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• Project management software and tools: ...

Project management software and tools: Your best picks for 2024

Project management software connects teams, enabling everyone in the organization to prioritize the work that matters most. Software that fosters this type of high-level collaboration is essential for most companies. But at a glance, many of the tools organizations use have seemingly similar features. Use our guide to narrow down your choices and understand which tools are best for different types of companies.

If you manage work, you’re a project manager. But that wasn’t always the case. For many years, the only people responsible for managing projects were (unsurprisingly) project managers. These highly specialized roles used legacy tools that required extensive training and knowledge to use. 

Now, almost everyone is expected to manage their own projects, and these outdated tools are no longer practical. And while project manager roles and legacy softwares still exist, modern project management software has adapted to fill the needs of a more dynamic, collaborative workforce.

Whether you’re a brand new business owner who just needs help with invoicing or you're operating a multi-national company, there’s a project management software that’s right for you. Read on to see which project management software fits your company's needs.

What is project management software?

Project management software is a tool that helps teams to organize, track, and execute work. In its simplest form, you can think of project management software as an interactive workspace, where you coordinate the way you work, collaborate, and communicate with others. But the best project management software goes far beyond that—connecting your most advanced workflows across the company and helping you achieve your biggest, boldest goals. 

It’s a broad category, and can be as simple as digital checklists or as advanced as a full work management platform. The type of project management software you choose—and the way you use it—will depend on the size, needs, and overarching goals of your organization.

Why use project management software?

These days, everyone manages projects, but they don’t always have the tools they need to manage projects effectively. This often leads to teams using a spreadsheet, which is great for organizing work but doesn't show real-time updates. Spreadsheets are extremely manual, and can actually impede cross-functional collaboration. In short, they lack the capabilities of project management software. 

That’s why project management software is so crucial to today’s working environment. Among its many benefits, project management software serves as the connector for work, teams, stakeholders, goals, and everything in between.

The benefits of project management software

Focus your work. You’ll get more done—but more importantly, you’ll get the right work done. With project management software, you’re less likely to duplicate work or waste time searching for materials.

Reduce busywork. With project management software, you can connect every single task to goals that support the company’s biggest, broadest vision—so everyone knows how they’re driving the success of the company with every project. When employees understand how their day-to-day tasks impact the company, they’re even more motivated to produce their best possible work.

Create a system of record. Project management software serves as a system of record for all your projects and their related tasks. As a result, you can simultaneously store information while also making it easier for stakeholders and teams to access and use that information.

Increase cross-functional collaboration . Project management software is, at its core, a team collaboration tool. By bringing together work, goals, and people across projects, teams, and departments, project management software helps you build an interconnected, thriving cross-functional organization.

Store work safely. Ever delete a cell by accident in your spreadsheet? Or forget where you saved your latest to-do list ? Keeping everything cloud-based both helps you stay organized and reduces the chance of you losing work—all while maintaining your privacy. 

The 11 best project management software & tools in 2024 

There’s a wide range of project management software available in today’s market—choosing just one can feel overwhelming. That’s why we compiled this list of the best products in the industry today, and the types of businesses they’re most likely to help. See how each one compares, and the different ways project management software can streamline and enhance your work.

1. Asana: Best for enterprise companies

Asana goes beyond traditional project management software to provide a full work management solution that supports the dynamic, changing needs of enterprise companies. Asana doesn't just help you manage your tasks (although you can do that too)—it connects all the work your company is doing to your highest-level goals and business strategy. With Asana, you get so much more than project management software, including:

Integrations to all your favorite tools and systems, so you can keep your work organized in one platform.

Goals that connect to everyone and every task across your company, so you can ensure the work that gets done is always the most important.

Automations for tasks, scheduling, assigning work, and much more—all designed to reduce the amount of time you spend on low-priority busywork.

Ready-made project templates so you can get to work on your most important tasks right away.

Reporting dashboards that automatically update stakeholders and eliminate status update meetings.

Security, privacy, and compliance features that keep your data safe.

Discover even more of what Asana can do.

2. Trello: Best for simple project management

Trello is a Kanban-board style project management software , owned by Atlassian. In Trello, you nest project tasks under boards labeled with an overarching theme. For example, you might have a board for “Not started,” “In Progress,” and “Complete.” The setup makes it easy to track project progress from board to board, which is helpful when you need a simple tool for small projects.

3. Smartsheet: Best for spreadsheet lovers

Think of Smartsheet as an advanced version of a spreadsheet, with more capabilities. This system can be intuitive for companies who traditionally used spreadsheets for project management, such as time tracking with timesheets. 

4. Jira: Best for Agile-specific project management

Designed specifically for software development, Jira comes ready to launch for teams that use the Agile methodology to do their work. Owned by parent company Atlassian, Jira is often used for common development projects like bug tracking, as well as projects that use the Scrum process .

5. Monday: Best for small businesses

Monday offers a broad spectrum of apps that make it easy to implement and get started right away. This works for small businesses who are new to project management software, though once you rev up your work, company size, or collaboration across teams, you might hit a threshold for what’s possible.

6. Clickup: Best for small teams or startups

Clickup’s intuitive and colorful interface makes it easy to understand and adopt. Clickup is a popular choice for startups with limited resources and smaller teams that may not need as many capabilities. 

7. Notion: Best for notetakers

Notion is an elevated system to create and store dynamic documents, sheets, and note taking. This works best for companies or individuals who just need a more organized space for thoughts and ideas, though Notion can feel limited in how you can work with others in the tool itself.

8. Airtable: Best for those who want to build it themselves

Airtable provides a flexible no- and low-code database you can use to build your own bespoke project management system (or other custom application). For those who prefer to oversee the backend development of their project management software, Airtable offers that option.

9. Wrike: Best for client management

Wrike offers stackable storage and security in an easy-to-use format, so both clients and internal teams can safely access information. This can be helpful when you’re working with external partners, such as clients, in addition to managing work as a company.

10. Workfront: Best for marketing-only teams

Workfront (owned by Adobe) is a project management software that was initially developed for marketers. They’ve built out their platform to be a tool for all teams, but because it’s so targeted, users may struggle to coordinate with other teams outside of the marketing department. 

11. Microsoft: Best for personal tools

Microsoft Office is often labeled as a project management tool, but that’s mostly because their products are a staple at any company. Because we already know and understand how to use them, Microsoft Office products are often the first tool managers turn to when they start experimenting with project management. But the reality is, Excel spreadsheets and docs weren’t built for collaboration, so you’re better off using them in conjunction with full-fledged project management software. 

Features to look for in your project management tool

Ready to buy? Each project management system will have different features and functionality, but we recommend you prioritize a platform with these features at a minimum:

Collaboration features that enable work between team members, departments, and across the company—including file sharing, project tracking, and resource management.

A platform that provides portfolio management capabilities and the ability to connect goals to actionable tasks, so the entire company can see how all work is connected.

A mobile app so you can send off approvals, receive timely notifications, and manage projects on the go.

Project and reporting dashboards that are easy to access and view.

Varying project view styles that support all your project types and operations, including Gantt charts , Kanban boards, Lists, and Calendars (so as your company grows, you know your software has the capability to grow with it).

Enhanced project scheduling to set due dates, create important milestones, and easily track time so everything stays on schedule.

Project management app integrations that fit your custom business needs.

Automations and dependencies that update you and stakeholders in real-time.

The best project management software is the one that grows with you

A lot of project management software claims similar features, and at a basic level, many of them are the same. But when you choose a project management solution, it shouldn’t just be another tool. It should be a full-fledged project management platform that enables you and your team to get their best work done, with less effort. 

This means you need a platform that continues to grow, expand, and adapt as your company does. The last thing you need is to hit a ceiling just when you’re getting into your ideal workflow. Asana is built for enterprise teams, which means it can support your project management work from the beginning—when you’re a one-person team with an idea—all the way through your Fortune 100 growth. In fact, more than 80% of Fortune 100 companies use Asana*.

With Asana, it’s not just about putting out more deliverables. Instead, Asana focuses on how you can connect and leverage every aspect of your company’s work, goals, and resources to produce the right work. 

Project management software FAQ 

Which software is best for project management.

The best project management software is the one with the features you need. Look for a tool like Asana , a full work management platform where you can integrate the apps you already use, connect goals to work tasks, break down silos between teams, and automate time-consuming busywork.

What type of software is project management software?

Project management software is a type of software used for every aspect of project management. Often, this includes everything from the project planning stages (resource allocation, setting due dates, and building and assigning work task lists) to project scheduling, tracking, and reporting. The best project management software will help you coordinate and automate work not just across projects, but also across portfolios, teams, and departments.

What’s the difference between project management software and task management software?

Task management software is used strictly to manage tasks and is focused on production. Often, this looks like a digital to-do list with more capabilities. Project management software goes beyond task management to the actual planning, coordination, and goals of a project. This incorporates the bigger-picture, high-impact work and the actionable tasks you need to get there. Good project management software will also have task management capabilities, but the reverse isn’t always true.

How does project management software work?

Project management software is a tool to help you coordinate everything you need for project management. Often, this includes capabilities to create and assign tasks, scheduling all aspects of a project, and coordinating with others in your project team. The best project management software will also enable you to work cross-functionally across all teams, departments, and projects within your organization.

Is project management software worth it?

The short answer: yes! Project management software has an almost endless list of benefits. Most people immediately think of productivity as the reason to purchase project management software, but the right project management software can do more than increase your output. If you invest in the best project management software, you can break down silos and connect your entire company to your largest visions and goals. This enables everyone to work better on the projects that matter most.

*Accurate as of September 7, 2022 . Asana makes no representations about updating this number.

Related resources

What are story points? Six easy steps to estimate work in Agile

What is a flowchart? Symbols and types explained

How to choose project management software for your team

7 steps to complete a social media audit (with template)

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Microsoft Project

The power to make project management simple

Easy to start, simple to use, and vice versa

Work confidently with a powerful project management tool that makes getting started and managing projects both simple and easy.

Take the pain out of painstaking projects

Even complex projects are easier to manage when you can choose methods and tools that best suit your needs.

Microsoft Project and Microsoft Teams, the power of two

Use Project and Teams to empower collaboration and management of projects, including file sharing, chats, meetings, and more.

Work hand in hand without being side by side

Collaborate on projects even when you’re on different continents. Enable all team members to update tasks simultaneously so you can get more done together.

Stay on track effortlessly

Easily plan your projects with the power of dynamic scheduling based on effort needed, project duration, and allotted team members.

Improve your vision and results with business intelligence

Create interactive dashboards to view overall status and drill down into the details of your projects and programs, using Power BI *   visualization.

Wield the power to innovate

Build the desktop or mobile experiences you want and easily create automated workflows. All with a flexible, secure platform built on Azure, the world’s trusted enterprise cloud.

See how organizations, from startups to enterprises, are changing the way work gets done with Microsoft Project

Winning big with improved visibility

“We’re in a highly collaborative environment with small teams…Microsoft Project for the web and its integrations are really complementary to how we work.”

—Jack Quan, IT Process and Governance Manager, Muckleshoot Casino Resort

Unifying data systems

“Having a standardized way of working with a cloud solution like the Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) platform we built with Project for the web speaks to the new ways of working.”

—Anders Fogh, Head of Process and Operations, Product Development, VELUX

Streamlining project management

“Now that we have a unified system with Project for the web, project managers have one place to manage their projects.”

—Paul Scheiman, Vice President of Program and Project Management, Presidio

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Best Project Management Software of 2024

Whether team capacity planning or delegating tasks remotely, the best project management software fits into your workflows seamlessly. It organizes documents and communications while allowing co-workers to collaborate in real time. Businesses of all sizes, from law firms and creative agencies to software development teams and enterprises, use project management tools to manage resources, portfolios, and more.

In addition to our first-person experiences with each system, we spoke with business users to learn how top-rated project management tools impact their processes. We explored user reviews and ratings while evaluating pricing, software features, capabilities, and integrations. Learn how the following project management apps stack up.

Table of Contents

• Best Project Management Software
• Things To Consider When Looking
• How We Chose

Monday.com  »

Relatively quick deployment with a minimal learning curve

Native integrations with over 200 programs

14-day free trial, no credit card required

Paid plans require a minimum of three seats

Salesforce integration is limited to Enterprise users

Rivals offer more views at lower-priced tiers

Monday.com is a cloud-based work operating system (WorkOS). Its adaptability to different work environments and styles makes it our top pick as the best project management software overall. Businesses of all sizes can use the platform as a standalone project, resource, or portfolio management tool or leverage it to oversee their entire business operations.

Since Monday.com integrates with over 200 applications and has open application programming interfaces (APIs), connecting your existing tools is relatively easy. Like other project management systems, you must play with formatting and functions to configure your spaces. Fortunately, Monday.com has more than 200 ready-made templates to jumpstart your boards. These include industry-specific options like an event management dashboard and customer-centric project management templates.

Most employers and contractors (guest users) can tackle basic tasks with little to no learning curve. For instance, I connected to Google Drive, uploaded files, viewed assignments, and tagged editors on my first time using the software without onboarding or assistance. Additionally, we appreciate Monday.com’s code-free automations and the many options for viewing your boards. Aside from its WorkOS software, the company offers Monday dev, which adds sprint management, bug tracking, and roadmap planning.

The free version displays milestone and task dependencies

Built-in direct messaging tools

Free 14-day trial, no credit card required

Limited customer service options

Fewer integrations than other project management tools

With a free forever plan for unlimited team members and tasks, Nifty is the best project management software for businesses on a budget. Its base plan’s per-user price (with annual billing) costs less than most rivals. Plus, Nifty offers a 50% discount to non-profits and educational institutions.

Nifty’s free version includes two active projects, 100 MB of storage space, and all core features. We appreciated its all-in-one workspace, showing task and milestone dependencies. Paid subscriptions provide advanced tools like time tracking, workflow automations, and budget tracking. As a central hub, Nifty supports group and one-on-one chats. Zoom and Webex integrations let teams launch video calls right from direct messages.

Users can create a task or document within project discussions and leverage multiple views to understand a project’s timeline or employee workload. Since your staff can customize their dashboard, every person can put the widgets they need front and center.

The software is flexible, allowing for multiple use cases, from legal case management to agile development. Nifty’s blog explains how to use the platform as a customer relationship management (CRM) program or for issue tracking and bug management.

Unlimited power-ups and integrations on the free plan

Visually appealing and user-friendly

14-day trial of Trello Premium

Lacks advanced reporting tools required for complex projects

Does not show interdependencies

Trello’s cloud-based platform resembles a modern whiteboard with sticky notes, except you can automate repetitive actions to streamline project workflows, attach files, and communicate with co-workers. Trello is our top pick for the best small business project management software due to its intuitive user interface, affordability, and time-saving features.

Its free version supports your entire team with unlimited workspaces (each with 10 boards and unlimited cards) and storage. You can set due dates and assign tasks or create a new card from an email. Paid subscriptions provide more views (dashboard, timeline, and map) and remove board limitations.

Trello connects to over 200 third-party tools like Slack, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, and Miro. These integrations work as power-ups, meaning you can, for example, embed a Miro whiteboard in a Trello card or view contact data from Zoho CRM without leaving Trello. Many of these integrations work with Trello’s no-code automation tools, allowing you to generate a new Jira ticket or post a Slack reminder.

I’ve used Trello for over five years to manage client projects and leads. Its intuitive interface has almost no learning curve. Yet, once you dig into the knowledge base, you’ll discover many ways to increase productivity and project oversight. Trello can serve as a resource hub, onboarding center, or editorial calendar.

Smartsheet  »

Customizable dashboard and reporting tools

Automated alerts for Slack and Microsoft Teams

Smartsheet Pro plan is limited to 10 users

Steeper learning curve than other PM software

Some resource management tools require a premium add-on

As the name suggests, Smartsheet has a spreadsheet-like interface. However, its dynamic resource planning capabilities help companies manage schedules, forecast availability, and stay on budget. Consequently, we chose Smartsheet as the best project management software for resource management.

Michelle Delker, CFO and CPA at the William Stanley Group, says Smartsheet “supports large scale and multi-faceted projects, providing extensive project management capabilities, including comprehensive Gantt charting.” The Gantt view displays cross-project dependencies, milestones, hierarchy, percentage complete, custom fields, and more. Moreover, Delker mentions, “The software’s robust analytics and real-time reporting capabilities provided invaluable insights that drive critical decision-making.”

With the Resource Management add-on, leaders can spot trends with utilization reports or forecast business growth with monthly or quarterly statements. Real-time analytics show key metrics (incurred hours, fees, or expenses) so project managers can adjust schedules (or expectations) accordingly.

While the spreadsheet is where the main work happens, the dashboards are also critical tools. When team members log in, the dashboard can display metrics, images, and charts. Or you can turn it into an information hub with real-time updates and resources. Additionally, we like that Smartsheet lets all users (even on the free version) log in via Microsoft, Google, or their Apple ID.

Microsoft Project  »

Straightforward integration with Microsoft Teams

Cloud and on-premise installation options

One-month free trial

Less affordable at higher tiers

Companies may need additional Microsoft subscriptions for full functionality

Microsoft Project debuted almost 30 years ago and is one of the few project management tools still offering on-premise installation, often preferred by large organizations. Its seamless integration with other Microsoft products means companies can leverage Microsoft Power BI for insights or jump into a Teams meeting without fussing around with APIs or integrations. For these reasons and others, we chose Microsoft Project as the best project management software for enterprise projects.

Indeed, José Moya, outreach manager at Capicua Full Stack Creative Hub, says that Microsoft Project “offers comprehensive project and portfolio management features, making it ideal for managing large-scale and complex projects.” It provides a central hub for portfolio, project, and resource management, supporting agile and waterfall methodologies.

Visual, interactive roadmaps help individuals and project managers understand workstream and summary tasks. In addition, easy-to-edit project planning templates mean you don’t have to start from scratch. We liked how users could link tasks to show dependencies and the advanced tools available for status tracking and costing. With web, on-premise, and desktop versions, enterprises can choose project management solutions based on how and where employees work.

Customizable views, templates, and automations

Unlimited storage with all paid subscriptions

Analytics and portfolio templates to streamline management

Fewer native integrations than Monday.com

Users say it takes longer to personalize it for their business

ClickUp centralizes your tasks, projects, and goals, giving teams and leaders a unified view of the company’s portfolio. During interviews, experts almost unanimously mentioned ClickUp’s customization as a key reason for using the platform. Riva Jeane May Caburog, PR and Media Coordinator at Nadrich & Cohen personal injury law firm, says, “When it comes to handling projects with a flexible approach, ClickUp lets us set up things the way we like, which helps us stay quick and responsive to our clients.”

At the same time, ClickUP provides nearly all tools required to handle diverse portfolios, including time-tracking functions, portfolio management templates, and sprint burndown charts. Its vast feature set is why we chose ClickUp as the best project management software for project portfolio management.

Indeed, Allie Decker, co-founder of Omniscient Digital, mentions she chose ClickUp for its “ability to handle multiple project portfolios and offer all-encompassing views. We use it to manage dynamic tasks and subtasks, roll out our quarterly and biannual projects, track important client information and resources, capacity-plan for our team, and much, much more.”

Jira Software  »

Over 3,000 apps and integrations

Free for up to 10 users

A sandbox environment (advanced roadmaps)

The extensive feature set can overwhelm less technical-savvy users

Some capabilities require paid plug-ins

Designed for agile teams, Jira offers a robust free version for 10 users (with unlimited automation rules for a single project) and paid plans suitable for up to 35,000 team members. It shows real-time visual data, and you can configure the software to your team’s workflow, organizational structure, or agile maturity level. Jira’s focus on agile methodologies is why we chose it as the best project management software for agile project management.

Dmitri Graf, a software engineering project leader, calls Jira the “De facto dominating standard tool in the world of software projects.” Abhishek Shah, founder of Testlify,   says, “The customizable Kanban and Scrum boards, along with sprint planning and backlog management, enable efficient project execution and continuous improvement.” Users can view dependencies between tasks and see important information (like assigned tasks) on team dashboards.

Aside from agile project management, Jira Software enables leaders to capacity plan and use advanced roadmaps to visualize data or explore possible opportunities. Another standout feature is the Atlassian Marketplace. It features over 3,000 apps and integrations, allowing businesses to connect CRM, helpdesk, and design tools.

The Bottom Line

Project management software solutions vary greatly in ease of use and functionality. In some cases, vendors lock must-have features behind pricier tiers. We preferred Monday.com because of its low technical barriers and two project management offerings (a general PM tool and an agile software development system). While we wish it had real-time messaging, the multiple views, integrations, and code-free automations won us over.

However, for more complex tasks or enterprise-level portfolios, Monday.com may not be appropriate. Invite your team to take advantage of free trials. Then, have an honest discussion to see which option will be the best project management software going forward.

Things To Consider When Looking for Project Management Software

• Compatibility with existing workflows and tools: Deploying new project management software is challenging. The last thing you want to do is overall your current processes, from brainstorming ideas to assigning tasks. The best solutions will fit into your workflows and not require your team to change them dramatically. Likewise, you won’t want to switch email, CRM, or video conferencing providers. Consult with your team to see which integrations would reduce task switching and improve productivity. Then, review project management solutions to see if any connect to your must-have programs. 
• User-friendly interface and ease of adoption: Always consider the technical and non-technical team members who will use the software. For successful deployment and implementation, you truly need everyone on board. Although some software with advanced features will have a steeper learning curve, you can plan for this by developing an onboarding and training program. But if you need simple project planning tools, look for an intuitive system that doesn’t require weeks of training. Most users can complete basic actions in tools like Trello or Monday.com. Gauge employee responses during free trials and demos. Ask for their feedback, follow up, and consider their opinions before making your final decision. 
• Project management methodology support: Software capabilities differ. Most offer Kanban views and support the basics of waterfall and agile methodologies. But, not all work for teams using scrum or adaptive project frameworks. Check out the vendor’s use cases (typically listed under “Solutions”). These will give you a good idea of what types of companies and teams use the software. Most providers mention features or tools that support these use cases. Also, look at the available templates. Although you can often build your own, starting with a ready-made design and customizing it to suit your process is more straightforward than starting from scratch. Lastly, review the knowledge base. The company should offer method-specific tutorials on how to get the most out of the software for your methodology.
• Collaboration and communication features: Project management software should unify your teams, and one way it does that is by ensuring seamless communication. However, the available methods differ. Some, like ClickUp and Nifty, offer in-app live chat. This messaging feature means remote teams don’t have to switch to your business phone system to resolve an issue. Others have built-in video integrations, allowing users to start a video call without leaving the application. These tools and others can enhance collaboration and productivity. More common among project management software are comments, where you can mention co-workers, and they receive notifications. Most support co-annotation file and document sharing, and some have whiteboards.
• Customization and flexibility options: Consider who will use your project management software and how applications support different roles. You want the system to be flexible enough to handle granule details of individual projects, which depends on your methodology and workflows. For instance, PM apps allow for different dependencies, automations, and task assignments. At the same time, project managers need to personalize their dashboards to view workloads and deadlines. Also, automated notifications and real-time metrics help managers monitor progress. At a high level, business owners and executives should be able to customize the software to see an overview of all projects. Look for apps with recurring, automated reports, portfolio options, and forecasting tools. Lastly, the software should facilitate communication and collaboration between on-site, remote, and hybrid teams with desktop and mobile apps.

How We Chose the Best Project Management Software

Our U.S. News 360 Reviews editors spoke with chief financial officers, founders, and software development engineers to develop this rating of the best project management software. Many experts, including our own editors and the author, used several PM tools before settling on their favorite. They often switched apps as their operations grew and their needs became complex. Therefore, the key takeaway is to ensure your software suits today's requirements and can scale to meet short-term growth.

We examined dozens of project management systems and narrowed our options after interviewing software users and reading reviews. Our evaluation considered supported methodologies, views, features, and ease of use. We also assessed templates, automations, and dependency management. 

While prices vary among solutions, we were pleased to find many free and low-cost versions. In addition, several offer free trials, giving companies an excellent opportunity to test out software before committing.

WHY SHOULD YOU TRUST US?

With decades of product testing and research experience, our editors and contributors are familiar with nearly all aspects of software. Jessica Elliott , the author of this article, has relied on project management software as an employee, business owner, and contractor. Like other experts we interviewed, she’s tested multiple applications over the past decade and uses at least two in her current role.

Most project management solutions offer a free trial of paid software versions, ranging from seven to 30 days. Many allow new users to sign up for the trial period without entering credit card information. Alternatively, you can try the free versions. However, these may not provide access to advanced features.

Many project management applications place the most limitations on free versions while allowing unlimited projects with paid subscriptions. Since paid plans incur a per-user fee, you are typically not restricted to a certain number of users. Other limitations may vary by package, including storage space, automations, boards, cards, dashboards, or tasks.

Always review the customer service information for project management software carefully. During our assessment, we found that most vendors do not offer phone support, and only a few have live chat options. Most provide self-help services and email or ticketing support. However, the response time may vary by subscription tier and issue priority.

Some project management applications offer one-click migration services for companies transferring from another system. For example, ClickUp can migrate data from Jira Software, Trello, and Monday.com. Alternatively, you can create a custom import for unsupported software programs.

Although vendors offer software comparisons on their websites, reviewing information from trusted third parties is a good idea. Look for fact-based guides that compare prices, features, and usability. Also, check out user feedback from project managers in similar industries. We suggest asking your professional network for recommendations as well. Colleagues can share insights and answer questions to help guide your decision.

About Our Team

Jessica Elliott

Contributor

Lauren Swift

U.S. News 360 Reviews takes an unbiased approach to our recommendations. When you use our links to buy products, we may earn a commission but that in no way affects our editorial independence.

Best project management software of 2024

Organize projects and tasks

Best overall

Best for tracking, best all-in-one, best popular, best for small teams, best established, best for enterprises, best for comms, how we test.

The best project management software makes it simple and easy to manage and organize tasks and workflows for teams.

1. Best overall 2. Best for tracking 3. Best all-in-one 4. Best popular 5. Best for small teams 6. Best established 7. Best for enterprises 8. Best for comms 9. FAQs 10. How we test

With the normalization of home working following the pandemic, project management software is more important than ever, giving remote teams an easy way to manage projects and tasks.

Whereas it used to be the case that paper or spreadsheets would be required, these days, project management software is usually able to provide a range of tools to help improve productivity and make the management of tasks easier.

Features might normally include the ability to set up a team and allow communication between members, the assignment of specific subtasks with dates for completion, as well as goals, interactive calendars, progress reports, and analytics to provide data on workflows.

On top of all this, a number of project management platforms can also integrate with other software applications, such as for cloud document storage , sales reporting software, and customer relations management ( CRM ) software.

We've therefore listed below what we think are the best project management software platforms currently available.

We've also featured the best online collaboration software .

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The best project management software of 2024 in full:

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1. Microsoft Project

Our expert review:

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid.

Microsoft Project is one of the more advanced project management platforms available today. It features cutting-edge technologies that allow you to identify the best way to schedule projects and find optimal solutions for distributing workloads across your team.

If you’ve ever used Microsoft Excel or another Microsoft productivity tool, the chances are that you’ll feel at home when navigating around Microsoft Project. Like other Office programs, tools and shortcuts can be found in a bar at the top of the screen.

However, “at home” doesn’t mean “comfortable”. Although Project might look similar to Excel, you’ll need to have a grounding in project management concepts to fully understand what’s going on in the Microsoft Project interface. On the left part of the display, you’ll find a spreadsheet related to task and resource data. Meanwhile, on the right-hand side is an interactive visualization of your schedule. 

Taking some time to familiarize yourself with this program before confidently taking on any given task would be a wise choice, even for those who would consider themselves “advanced” in skill and knowledge of project management tools and software.

Although it won’t be winning any prizes for simplicity, Microsoft Project remains an excellent project management tool for experienced professionals. Its ability to forecast project costs and assign resources based on intricate details mean it can simply go further than and do more than the alternative project solutions.

Read our full Microsoft Project review .

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Asana is a project management solution you may have heard of – even if you haven’t used the service in the past. While it offers a ton of handy features to boost productivity, there’s a bigger emphasis placed on tracking.

The app lets you create to-do lists and reminders so you always meet deadlines, plus you can add due dates, colleagues, instructions to tasks, and comment on items. You can even share images from other apps (like Google Drive) directly to Asana. And more importantly, you can actually track everything you and your colleagues work on in a bid to ensure the project is running smoothly and to schedule.

If you’re concerned with who is working on certain projects, then you can bring up a list of teams and individuals, and there’s also a search functionality so you can find completed tasks easily.

Asana offers a free Basic tier, with limited functionality and dashboards. Step up to the Premium, Business, or Enterprise tiers and you unlock additional features, as well as administration and management options.

Read our full Asana review .

Miro is one of those online tools that aims to bridge the gap between traditional office working and the modern hybrid routine that many of us are familiar with. It is best described as a multipurpose online collaboration tool, and its list of features is pretty extensive stretching beyond the typical realms of similar software.

The majority of the work you’ll end up doing in Miro will revolve around what it calls boards, which start off as entirely blank spaces. Setting one up from scratch can be daunting and time-consuming, which is why the company has designed templates that you can pick from the get-go.

Some of its most commonly accessed templates include mind maps, Kanban boards, flowcharts, product roadmaps, and timelines. Many of these will serve well as project management tools, and anybody familiar with other project management software like Airtable or Trello will already be familiar with how they work.

Overall, we think Miro is hard to beat. Its long list of features should cover all parts of a typical business process from research and design to presentation, and its collaboration abilities are second to none. Furthermore, its transparency around security and reasonable pricing make it hard for us not to recommend it. The only thing we could wish for is better support channels.

Read our full Miro review .

Over the last few years, Trello has emerged as one of the most popular project management applications. It lets you organize all of your work-based and personal projects through a computer, tablet or smartphone. Trello is notably used by the likes of Fender, Google and Kickstarter.  

You’re able to set up boards to organize everything you’re working on, delegate tasks among colleagues, get customized workflows, add to-do lists within task cards, attach files and comment on items. The idea is that you manage all aspects of a project within the app, regardless of whether it’s team-based or assigned to an individual.

Both Windows and Mac desktops are supported, with mobile apps available on Android and iOS devices; there’s even a version that’s been optimized specifically for the iPad Pro. The latter sports a larger canvas and a variety of handy email shortcuts to speed up projects. It’s free to download to give it a spin, and can be used on the free tier, although there is a limit on the size of file attachments.

Upgrade to Business Class and you get additional features, including one-day email support, and integration with other services such as from Google and Slack, as well as higher attachment limits.

Read our full Trello review .

5. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is another project management tool that allows users to plan, organize, and collaborate on projects, while using Gantt charts for detailed visualization of progress and schedules. 

There are also options for document management, time keeping, as well as tracking and fixing errors. A range of integrations are available, such as Slack, Google, Dropbox, as well as the numerous other Zoho suites.

Pricing is dependent on both the number of users, number of projects, and the depth of features required, with higher level plans offering unlimited projects and higher limits according to the plan subscribed to. There is a free plan available to explore the software's features.

Read our full Zoho Projects review .

6. Basecamp

Basecamp is one of the oldest project management solutions, having been around for more than 10 years, building a reputation which makes it a highly credible tool for businesses that work on big projects.

The latest version of the app offers a variety of helpful features, including the ability to send direct messages for quick discussions, set up a schedule so you only get notifications within work hours, and show your appreciation for colleagues by clicking an applause button. Basecamp avoids a fragmented workflow, and as the firm says, it keeps “discussions, tasks, files, schedules and chat in one place.”

There are some nifty functions for dealing with clients, too. For instance, you can easily save and track client feedback and approvals, and you can also get reports on how projects are going. And when you want to collaborate with others, you can create group chats.

A free version lets you work on up to three projects with up to 20 people, to allow you to try out the software. After that, there's only a single paid-for plan, which includes all features and an unlimited number of users, making this a great deal for teams but not so much for individual users.

Read our full Basecamp review .

7. Liquid Planner

Liquid Planner has a robust feature set for enterprise-grade project management, boasting corporate customers which are leading Fortune 500 firms including Bayer, Cisco and Daimler.

Features include the Smart Schedule that can assist in prioritizing work, assigning people resources, and then estimating the hours needed for completion, which then allows the project to be tracked given the hours devoted to it by the assigned workforce.

Conversely, the Resource Management feature can show the hours put in by each worker, and track who is available to assign to the next project. All of this data feeds into easy-to-read dashboards that can be integrated into financial metrics and trends.

Note that there is a free 14-day trial to take Liquid Planner out for a test drive before you commit.

Read our full LiquidPlanner review .

Podio has been designed for professionals who are always working on multiple projects and generating new ideas. More than 400,000 businesses and teams from across the world are using it, including the likes of Sony , Volvo and the NFL. 

With the Podio app, you have the ability to create tasks and customize them based on your workflow, taking into account deadlines and responsibilities. There’s also a built-in instant messaging function that you can use to share ideas and see how others are getting on with delegated tasks. Additionally, there is a handy tool for getting quick feedback without having to send several emails.

There are integrations with third-party services such as Dropbox and Google Drive, meaning you can share content quickly and easily. Podio is available in a number of additional languages, including French, German, Danish, Chinese, Spanish and Russian.

Read our full Podio review .

More project management software reviews

See the following reviews for more worthy contenders for best project management software:

• Microsoft Project review
• Smartsheet review
• Wrike review
• Buildertrend review
• Monday.com review

We've also featured the best productivity tools .

What is Agile project management?

This section is authored by Cliff Berg, Agile evangelist

Some people claim that Agile does not have a place for the role of the project manager. That is a harsh claim, though, and it is a little like someone who has just turned 18 saying to their parents, “I don’t need a parent anymore”.

The role of a project manager was firmly established before the Agile movement, largely because work on software was usually organized as a project: that is, a chunk of work that was budgeted for, and was scheduled for, and for which requirements were defined up front.

Today, software is best viewed as a living thing: once you create it, you need to keep evolving it. Thus, the view that you create it and then maintain it, and that if you ever need to change it you propose a project - that approach is too slow and cumbersome. Instead, one needs to build the evolution of the product into its process for creating and maintaining it.

It is like for most living things, most creatures are not born and then stay the same, and then at some point undergo a metamorphosis and change to a new state. Some do that, but most are born and then continue to evolve and change continuously throughout their lives. Software is like that today - or needs to be, to keep pace with today’s market demands, let alone stay ahead of the market.

The “project” construct is based on a corporate finance model whereby an organization is in a steady state, and one then proposes a “project” and an accompanying ROI analysis - usually through an annual planning cycle - that will change the organization to a new state. That heavyweight and plodding approach is an obsolete model. Today, change needs to be continuous. The construct of “project” should be reserved for things that need an unusual boost - a “one-off” step change - but most things need continuous change, so most things should not be funded as projects.

A better way to look at automated business systems is as products: things that comprise a capability, that have a life cycle, and that are continuously being enhanced.

If most business initiatives are not funded and managed as projects, then there is less of a need for project managers; but project managers have skills that are still needed.

Unfortunately, the top-heavy methods of the 1990s created a community of project managers who were trained in those top-heavy methods. It is those methods that are largely obsolete for software. They still work for other things, such as building construction, but software is just too dynamic. Software is not like a building: you cannot see it, you cannot assess at a glance how “done” it is, it connects in myriad ways, rather than only in three dimensions. It is different every time,  you never build the same software twice, even though there can be some requirements that are repeated.

That means that the process of building software is not repeatable, and so it cannot be managed as such. It is a highly creative process, and there is a lot of trial and error in it. One cannot fully design software upfront; one has to create a tentative high-level design, build it and alter the design as one discovers some elements don't work right until everything fits and works in the end. This is a craftsmanship of unique products that won’t be the same again.

Such efforts need leadership, and organization, and decision making, and inspiration. The function of management includes all these things, by definition, and thus, there is very much a role for managers; but what does not work is an autocratic manager who tells everyone what to do, or one who sits at their desk checking off documents. Instead, leadership is needed, from the managers and from others, and the kinds of leadership that work are those that encourage thoughtfulness, rational Socratic discussion, and transparent decision making. People need a high degree of autonomy - not complete autonomy, but a lot. They also need a lot of coordination, and those who lead need to be good listeners and always watching for issues that are being overlooked.

Which project management software is best for you?

When deciding which project management software to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require.

Project management tools have developed markedly in recent years, adding a host of features, from Gannt charts to file sharing solutions. For this independent review, we’ve analyzed some of the best-known project management solutions on the market, evaluating them for their usability, features, and integration with other software. How they stand up to the new rigours enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic has also been considered. In terms of what you should look for in a project management tool, scalability, reliability and security are also important. These are factors that we carefully assessed before choosing our best project management software solutions. 

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .  

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Project Management

Software development project management: beginner’s guide 2024.

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This software development project management guide is going to give you the full rundown on the topic. We'll cover what goes into successful software project management and share some of the best project management software to help you do the job.

Last Updated: 21 Feb'24 2024-02-21T17:43:46+00:00

All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.

• Jira — The best project management tool specifically made for software developers.
• monday.com — The best overall project management tool
• ClickUp — An affordable and flexible project management tool

Facts & Expert Analysis

• Management: Managing a software project requires a high level of adaptability, especially when reacting to customer feedback.
• Development: The software development lifecycle will be the foundation of your whole project.
• The Right Tools: Having the best project management tools will make it much easier to achieve your goals.

Approaching software development project management correctly is essential to ensure that you get a product ready as smoothly as possible. If you’re a project manager who’s new to software development projects, here’s a crash course on what software project management is and how to nail it each and every time.

The best project management software can assist you with your goals. However, there’s no point in having the right tools for the job if you don’t know how to use them. Although this article isn’t a tutorial on using software, once you better understand the intricacies of software project management, you’ll be able to use these tools to maximize your success.

In this article, we’ll touch on the different software development types, the processes involved and some of the core responsibilities of project managers working in this field. Buckle up, as we’re about to take you from being a novice to having the confidence to successfully implement strong software project management.  

What Is Software Development Project Management?

When a client or internal stakeholder needs a software product, their first point of call will be to work with software development teams — aka experts who know how to build the software. As straightforward as that sounds, building a product involves several stages, and the path to the final goal is often complex.

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This is where people use software development project management. It involves creating an environment where software project managers can plan, develop deadlines, communicate, perform resource and time management duties, and visualize how the team can meet its goal. 

A term you’ll often hear in this type of project management process is Agile development. It consists of several frameworks designed to help a project manager and the development team fulfill their project. We’ll touch on this more later, but for now, we encourage you to take a look at the best tools for Agile project management . 

Software Development Types

There are several types of software projects. Some are extremely long and complex, while others involve simple updates to existing software. If you’re entering the world of software project management, below are some common areas worth knowing about.

• Embedded systems development — This is the process of writing code and developing software that can run on a specific piece of hardware. 
• SaaS products — These involve software solutions that are offered as a continuous service rather than a one-time purchase, like cloud storage or Scrum management software.
• Mobile apps — All your favorite smartphone apps began as software projects that were driven by a software project manager.
• Desktop apps — Think Excel and Google Docs; these simple everyday tools all require a software development team.
• Updates — These involve new iterations and patch fixes of already existing software. 

Benefits of Software Development Project Management

Although all of this sounds legit, you may wonder how understanding and implementing certain project management methodologies can be beneficial, specifically for software development. We’ll break those benefits down.

Provides a Catalyst for Organization 

Due to the ever-changing nature of software development, it’s easy for things to get derailed. Agile project management practices let you implement project planning and pathways, enabling you to adjust as the project progresses. Project managers can use frameworks like Scrum, Kanban and XP to organize a software development project, leading to a smooth workflow.

Increases Productivity

Having no rhyme or reason for software development will result in a decrease in productivity. Establishing clear goals, implementing effective resource management and using the right software project management tools will allow your team to work more effectively. Less confusion and clear project objectives lead to better project performance and productivity. 

Improves Communication

Project managers ensure there’s cross-departmental communication. In Agile project management, specifically Scrum, they link the Scrum Master with stakeholders and the product owner with the development team. Effective communication ensures that nothing gets lost in the pipeline and that everyone understands the project’s direction and the end product.  

Helps Prevent Issues Before They Arise

By performing risk management before a project starts, project managers can identify potential problems and establish plans to deal with any issues that arise. Also, when developers track and log issues throughout a project, managers can react quickly as they pop up. Overall, risk management helps keep a project running smoothly.  

Helps You Stick To Deadlines

Arguably the most important element of project management is ensuring you deliver a working product to the end user at the agreed-upon time. Unless you’re lucky, just winging it won’t get you where you want to be when you need to be there. That’s why project management strategies and the right tools for software development projects are essential to your success.

Challenges of Project Management in Software Development

Due to its complexity, there are many challenges that arise during the project management process. Below are some key hurdles that managers should be mindful of when working on a project.

Changes in Demands

It’s common for clients to reconsider what they want from a product. Some changes will be minor, and some will be more complex. This means a project can take a swift change in direction that requires you to restructure the plan. That’s why Agile is useful, as it helps you be adaptable at every stage of the project.

Bugs and Errors

Just when you think a product is where it needs to be, the dev team realizes there are bugs and errors that need fixing. Not only does this take time, but it can also slow down the project — not ideal when you have deadlines. This is why constant testing and quality assurance are essential parts of project monitoring.

Communication Barriers

A software project involves lots of communication with many different people and departments. Whether it’s a confused software dev or an uncooperative stakeholder, a breakdown in effective communication can escalate into a world of issues. Having experienced project managers and product owners is necessary for communication between all users.

Software projects often cost a lot of money. As the product evolves, it’s usually necessary to invest more money into adapting it to meet the latest requirements. Work that takes longer than expected will also hike up a project’s expenditure. That’s why strong budget planning at the start is important because it can help you avoid the pitfalls of scope creep . 

Software Development Lifecycle Phases

A common term you’ll hear in this field is software development lifecycle phases (SDLP). It consists of seven different stages and serves as the anchor for the full project timeline. Without it, software devs couldn’t build and deliver the product that’s required of them. Let’s take a look at each stage. 

• Gather the business requirements
• Assess if the request is possible to build
• Complete the initial task prioritization
• Translate the plan into requirements for the dev team
• Create a use case document
• Share the “requirement traceability matrix” document
• Create the system design
• Select a programming language
• Agree on a platform to build on
• Ask what security measures are necessary for the product
• Divide the project into modules
• Turn requirements into code
• Set goals and milestones for the dev team
• Performance testing looks at the speed and reliability of the product
• Functionality testing assesses if the product matches the requirements
• Security testing helps ensure that the product is secure
• Usability testing looks at the user interface and assesses the user experience
• Acceptance testing is the final testing stage before the product goes to the end user
• The completed product is ready to go to the end user
• Make improvements to the final product
• Fix any bugs that were missed in the development cycle
• Adapt the product where necessary

It’s worth noting there isn’t just one SDLC model. In fact, there are five in total: Agile, Waterfall, Iterative, Spiral and the Big Bang model. Agile suits flexible projects, Waterfall is for clearly defined projects, Iterative works for projects that require high flexibility, Spiral is best for complex projects, and finally, Big Bang is great for academic projects with small dev teams. 

The Software Development Process Explained

Software project management requires a clear process. It’s similar to the software development lifecycle, but it’s more condensed and defined. Usually, the software project manager is responsible for creating this process. Below, we’ll go through the five stages involved.

1. Initiation

The initiation stage is where the software project manager learns about the request. It could be a brand-new system or an update to an established system. They’ll also learn what type of platform the end user needs the software for, such as mobile or desktop. During the initiation stage, the manager must create a project charter and identify key project stakeholders.

2. Planning

The project planning phase is where you start to create and assign tasks. The project manager will input specific project milestones, establish key performance indicators and separate groups of tasks into lists. It’s also a key stage for liaising with different departments (development, marketing, finance) so you can ensure everyone is on the same page as you begin the project.

3. Execution

In simple terms, execution means doing the work. This includes designing and building the product, as well as testing and performing quality assurance. It’s critical that project managers keep a high level of communication during this stage, as it’s likely the most sensitive and unpredictable part of the full process. 

4. Monitoring

The monitoring phase of a project is where the project manager pays close attention to what their team is working on. It’s here that they will monitor output and assess workloads. They’ll also use this stage to respond to and resolve any issues that may arise. 

At closing, the project managers ensure that all the tasks are complete. Once this is done, the software will be handed to the client. It’s a good opportunity to assess what parts of the project were most successful and which areas could be improved in the future. In Agile project management practices, it’s common to refer to this stage as “retrospectives.”

What Is Agile Project Management?

We wrote a detailed article answering what Agile project management is . However, for those who prefer the TL;DR version, we’ll briefly explain Agile project management here.

Agile is essentially a customer-focused approach to project management. This means working within a set of core values to meet customer needs and expectations. As per the Agile Manifesto , these values include focusing on individuals and interactions, prioritizing working software over documentation, responding to change and facilitating customer collaboration. 

It’s very much a reactionary approach to project management, which is also built on calculated anticipation of potential issues. The planning system may not be rigid, but having an adaptable mindset while developing software leads to better structure when using Agile project management and its frameworks, like Kanban , Scrum and Lean.  

What Are a Project Manager’s Responsibilities?

Project managers are responsible for ensuring project success. They’re the glue that keeps everyone together and the captain of the project’s ship. Responsibilities will vary depending on the project and your client, but below is a rundown of the kinds of responsibilities you can expect to have.

• Leading and planning the journey of the project
• Building different teams for specific parts of the project
• Creating and assigning tasks to team members
• Being a point of contact for external stakeholders and clients
• Tracking and managing budgets (usually with a financial officer)
• Ensuring each stage of the project is complete before delivering the product to the client

Simply put, the project manager is largely responsible for the project’s success (or lack thereof). That’s why reading guides like this and making sure you use the best project management platform will be essential to your performance.

Important Metrics for Software Development Project Management

Your project will consist of many individual goals and targets spread across multiple departments. You can use the following metrics to help you analyze how well a project went and determine what improvements you can make in future projects.

Stakeholder Satisfaction

Were your clients happy with the project’s execution and the software they received? Through a client survey, you can gather information to understand their level of satisfaction. 

This metric allows you to assess what percentage of tasks stayed on schedule. It also lets you understand how successful your team is at delivering products at the agreed deadline.

Your financial officer’s favorite metric tells you if you were able to stick to the budget throughout your project. Here you can confirm which areas led to overspending and plan how you can stay within budget for future projects.

Defects are your chance to monitor how many bugs and issues came up throughout the product creation process. You can also see the amount of issues that the software developers were able to repair. 

The Best Software Development Project Management Software

It’s time to look at some of the best tools for the trade. Below are three of the best project management software platforms for software development teams. 

• Made for software devs
• Solid pricing structure
• Very easy to use
• Not the most versatile

Software development teams will love Jira. From kanban to Scrum , it supports frameworks that will appeal to software development teams. Tools for your software project — such as version tracking, backlog refinement and sprint planning — are all available, as is the ability to add story points so the team can assess the depth of work that’s required.

If you’re familiar with the terminology used for software-related objectives, then you’ll have no issues using Jira. Epics, stories, and issues are all embedded into the solutions’ lingo. Both the kanban and Scrum boards come with a great design, and moving cards between each project stage is smooth. Jira is fairly priced too. Take a look at our Jira review to learn more. 

• Max. 10 users. unlimited boards, reports and insights; backlog; basic roadmaps; 2GB of storage; community support
• Annual price is for 10 users; with more than 10, annual pricing changes based on the number of users. Monthly pricing changes with teams over 100.

2. monday.com 

• Beautifully designed
• Free & basic plans are weak

monday.com is a project management tool that has all the features that a software development project manager needs. You can create a backlog, organize sprints, track bugs and develop a release plan. Project managers can also create roadmaps, add timelines, set priorities and add epics.

One thing we really like about monday.com is that it offers several visual customizations. You can color-code your data and the fonts you use. This functionality is embedded into a beautiful user interface, which helps users digest complex project data. Furthermore, it has excellent value on select plans . You can learn more by reading our monday.com review . 

• Maximum users: 2
• Minimum users: 3
• Enterprise-level features.

• Good for collaboration 
• Highly customizable
• Excellent value
• Navigation can be long-winded

ClickUp may not seem ready-made for software development teams. However, once you see the level of customizations available, you’ll soon realize it can do everything you need. The platform is also packed with a range of project templates, and there are several options that suit the software development process, including an Agile sprint planning template.

Beyond its project and task management tools, ClickUp is built for effective communication, a critical part of software development. The real-time chat tool is one of the best around. You can have group and private conversations alongside relevant tasks and projects. It’s also possible to embed videos and format messages into lists for more effective communication. 

ClickUp is affordable too, making it perfect for all budget types . You can learn more about the app and why it’s suitable for software and Agile teams by reading our ClickUp review .

• Basic functionality with some limitations
• All prices per user

Final Thoughts

Well, that’s it — your complete beginner’s guide to managing a software project. It’s a good idea to add this to your bookmarks for reference if you need to scrub up on some project management methodologies. Remember, if you need project management software, the three that we mentioned above are the best options.

Did you find this guide helpful? What are your favorite project management tools for software projects? Is there a project management platform you would like us to review? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading.

FAQ: Software Development Project Management Tools

This simply refers to how you manage the time and workload involved in developing a piece of software. Traditionally, Agile frameworks are used to manage software development projects.

PMP stands for Project Management Professional certification, which you can obtain through the Project Management Institute. It’s essentially an accreditation that says you understand project management and can implement it in software development. It’s not essential for project managers to have it, but some employers may prefer that you do.

Program development means designing and building software applications that meet specific needs. Project management is how you plan and manage the successful build of the software product.

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Project management software includes all the platforms and tools that help managers and teams plan, coordinate, and execute every aspect of project planning.

In short, it is made up of tools and apps designed to help you work more efficiently.

There’s an incredibly wide variety of project management software— from personal to-do lists to comprehensive “all-in-one” solutions —that facilitates the production of work for businesses of any shape and size.

Read how to successfully manage projects in our complete  project management guide .

What features should a good project management software include?

One of the main benefits of good project management software is that it should serve as an all-in-one tool and provides these features:

1. Seamless team collaboration and shared task lists

A project management software should have features that enable team members to communicate and collaborate effectively such as document sharing, communication in real-time (notes, comments, files) and activity feeds.

2. Gantt charts and timeline visualization

Gantt charts and timeline visualization help in planning and tracking project progress, allowing you to identify bottlenecks and make necessary adjustments.

3. Resource Management

Ensure that the right people are assigned to the right task at the right time by looking out for features such as resource planning and tracking.

4. Reporting and Analytics

Integrated analytics tools can help you gain insights into project progress , team performance, cost and other relevant metrics to make data-driven decisions.

How to choose project management software?

When choosing project management software for your team, there are several factors to consider. Some common factors that teams and companies focus on are ease-of-use, scalability, reporting, security, and pricing. The rest depends on your unique team needs and may require you to try out different systems before finding one your team loves.

Our list of top 15 project management software

Given the need for project management software with a vast range of features and different pricing, it makes sense to start with an overview table for the top project management software, tools and apps. The software that are listed the highest, make the best option in terms of fulfilling our criteria when we looked at project management capabilities, reporting, support, security, and price,

1. monday.com

monday.com is a work management system designed to help teams work without limits when it comes to project and task management. monday work management offers a user-friendly and intuitive interface with a range of customizable features that cater to the specific collaboration and communication needs of any team across industries.

Top features of monday.com

1. Project portfolio management

With the new project portfolio solution you can and get a birds-eye view on project progress of multiple projects.

2. Gantt charts monday.com Gantt chart view allows you to create task dependencies and update task owners and due dates with ease.

3. Workflow builder Choose from 100s of pre-made automation recipes or create your own custom ones to create workflows that sync integrations, people, and more.

• Best-in-class customer support
• AI features
• Excellent mobile app for on-the-go project management
• You might need to upgrade plans to get certain features
• No viewing options for non-users

monday work management pricing Free: $0 for up to 2 users Basic: $9/month/user with annual billing Standard: $12/month/user with annual billing Pro: $19/month/user with annual billing Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing

More details on monday.com pricing here .

Why customers love monday.com

• Trustradius: 8.5 out of 10 Voted in 2023: best features set, relationship and value
• G2: 4.7 out of 5 Voted in 2023: Leader in over 18 categories
• Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 Shortlisted in 2023 in over 8 software categories

Asana is a popular project management tool designed to help teams collaborate and manage their tasks and projects more efficiently. Asana has gained a reputation as a reliable and easy-to-use tool for project management, and it is used by many businesses and organizations around the world.

Asana top features

1. Calendar view: See all of your most important deadlines in one dedicated calendar.

2. Agile framework: The software has a time boxed, iterative approach for product development workflows.

3. Change requests and case management : Enable efficient tracking of customer requests with priority and timeline.

• Manage all project documentation in one place.
• Asana also uses drag-and-drop for ease of use.
• Asana may not be suited for larger teams or those who don’t prefer an agile approach.
• Limited customization options, such as notifications.

Asana pricing: $10.99/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available. More details on Asana pricing and review here.

Comparison: explore this Asana alternative .

Trello  is a web-based project management tool that uses a board-based approach to help individuals and teams organize their tasks and projects. It is a popular and user-friendly tool that allows users to easily track their progress, collaborate with team members, and visualize their workflow simply and intuitively.

Trello top features

1. Kanban cards: Trello uses Kanban cards to help you track task and project progress.

2. Checklists: Break down cards into smaller tasks by adding checklists to them.

3. Activity feed: See all recent changes and activity on your project board, like card updates and comments.

• It’s a great tool for teams who prefer iterations and Kanban.
• Teams can communicate in real time.
• Trello doesn’t offer project management software classics like Gantt charts or resource management features.
• Kanban cards might not be ideal for larger, complex, and unpredictable projects.

Trello Pricing: $5/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available. More details on Trello pricing and review here .

Comparison: explore these Trello alternatives

4. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a software as a service platform to plan, capture, track, automate, and report on work at scale. It offers a rich set of views, reports, workflows, and dashboards to adapt according to business needs.

Smartsheet top features

1. Dynamic gantt charts: Smartsheet’s Gantt chart view allows users to visualize project timelines and dependencies, with the ability to easily adjust schedules and assignments.

2. Customizable forms: Smartsheet’s customizable forms feature enables users to gather and organize data, such as customer feedback or project requests.

3. Data integration: It seamlessly integrates with a wide range of third-party tools, such as Salesforce, Jira, and Microsoft Office.

• Versatile platform:Smartsheet can be used for a wide range of tasks and projects, making it a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes and industries.
• Real-time collaboration:Smartsheet’s collaborative features allow team members to work together in real-time, improving communication and productivity.
• Reporting:The reporting functionality could be improved, with limited options for creating custom reports.
• Missed add-ons:It requires add-ons for time tracking and resource management.

Smartsheet pricing: $7/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available. More details on Smartsheet pricing and review here.

Jira Software is a server-based customizable workflow management solution that organizes tasks and projects into a centralized platform. It provides businesses with an infrastructure for automated processes and increased productivity.

Jira top features

1. Configuration: This software is known to be   highly configurable and customizable with granular control over security, privacy, and workflows.

2. Timeline view: Backed by Gantt Chart, timeline view lets users map dependencies and plans work effectively.

3. Cross-project syncing: You can mark tasks as a duplicate across projects to keep track of work between teams.

• Subtasks:Break up a task into smaller parts, or show additional steps to complete an overall task.
• Due dates: Track important dates and time so everyone’s working off the same deadline—no matter their time zone.
• Limited pre-made templates:Only 23 pre-made templates are available, which can be a challenge.
• Lack of integrations:Jira Core lacks integrations with many other productivity and task management sharing tools and apps.

Jira pricing: $5/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available. More details on Jira review and pricing here.

Comparison: explore these Jira alternatives

Wrike is a cloud-based project management software designed to help teams streamline their workflows and collaborate more effectively. It was founded in 2006 by Andrew Filev and has since grown into a popular tool used by businesses of all sizes to manage projects from start to finish.

Wrike top features

1. Integrations: Wrike integrates with project management must-haves like Google Drive, Zendesk, WordPress, Zapier, Slack, and more.

2. Wrike Approvals: The software has a dedicated feature to make the project review process smoother.

3. Budget & expense management: Customize currency preferences and create default hourly rates and job roles for projects.

• Create dashboards for visual and accurate stakeholder communications.
• There is a high level of customization possibilities.
• Some users had hoped for more triggers and actions available under their automation engine.
• You have to pay extra for advanced reporting.

Wrike pricing: $9.80/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available. More details about Wrike pricing and review  here.

7. Basecamp

Basecamp is a project management tool that helps teams to   stay organized, collaborate efficiently, and complete projects on time. It was first launched in 2004 by 37Signals, but later rebranded as Basecamp in 2014. Basecamp is a cloud-based project management software that can be accessed through a web browser, desktop, or mobile application.

Basecamp top features

• Hill charts: Basecamp uses unique hill charts to give you an overview of project progress.
• Automated check-ins: Create routine reminders for team members to provide project updates.
• File storage: Keep project documents and assets organized in the same place you manage projects.
• Basecamp is configured for communication with message boards and more.
• This software works well for small to medium-sized teams.
• There aren’t specific features for invoicing.
• Some users said it’s difficult to tag tasks with priority level or other attributes.

Pricing:  $15/user/month with annual plan. Free plan unavailable. More info on  Basecamp pricing  here.

Comparison: explore these Basecamp alternatives

ClickUp is a cloud based collaboration and project management platform designed to streamline team workflows. It offers a wide range of features such as custom statuses, time tracking, and reporting.

Clickup top features

Multitask toolbar: The multitask toolbar allows users to edit multiple tasks simultaneously, saving time and effort.

Custom fields: ClickUp’s custom fields enable it to tailor the platform to your specific workflow, making it more efficient and effective.

Mind Maps: ClickUp’s mind maps feature enables users to visually map out their ideas and workflows, making it easy to see how tasks relate to one another and streamline the project planning process.

• Agile project management: ClickUp’s agile project management tools help users keep track of team’s progress and adjust workflow as needed.
• Goals: Users can set, track, and measure progress towards their objectives, ensuring that everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.
• Inefficient comment’s threads: Comment’s threads and replays at chat space are hard to follow, they show entangled or not easy to find at a glance.
• Non-responsive dashboard:While dashboards are very nice, they are extremely slow to update and refresh.

Pricing: Free version is available for personal usage with limited features and paid plan starts from $7 per member per month

Comparison: explore these ClickUp alternatives

9. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is a cloud based project management software that helps organizations manage their resources. It comes with tools for task management, reporting, and issue tracking.

Zoho projects top features

Blueprint:  Zoho Projects’ Blueprint feature allows users to create project templates, making it easier to launch new projects with predefined workflows. Risk management:  The Risk Management feature helps users identify and manage potential project risks, minimizing the chance of project delays or failures. Custom fields:  With custom fields, users can track and report unique project metrics specific to their needs

• Comprehensive analysis: Comes with a suite of reporting tools to gain insights into project performance and make data-driven decisions.
• Workflows: You can automate routine tasks and processes, allowing teams to focus on high-value workflows.
• Limited integrations: Zoho’s integrations for leave management system and attendance are very limited.
• Document storage: The software’s document storage function isn’t compatible for every file type.

Pricing:  $4/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available.

Nifty Project Management is an online project management tool designed to improve team collaboration and project efficiency.

Nifty top features

• Task management: Team members can create, assign, and track tasks, set deadlines, and receive notifications.
• Time tracking: A built-in time tracking feature helps team members track their time spent on specific tasks.
• Project roadmaps: Plot milestones and deadlines.
• Project portfolio management: Nifty lets you create folders for projects into portfolios based on operations, account ownership, client delivery, and more.
• Time tracking: The built-in time tracking feature helps teams keep track of their work hours and make more accurate estimates for future projects.
• Limited customization: Nifty’s customization options are limited compared to other project management tools.
• Lack of advanced features: Nifty may not have some of the advanced features that larger teams or more complex projects may require.

Pricing: $3.90/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available.

11. Todoist

Todoist is a web-based project management and productivity platform designed to schedule and plan daily routine tasks. It lets users collect tasks, organize projects and plan their day.

Todoist top features

Natural language input:  Todoist allows users to add tasks quickly and easily using natural language, without the need for complicated forms or menus. Smart schedule:  Todoist’s smart schedule feature suggests the best date and time to schedule tasks based on their due dates, priorities, and other factors. Customization: Todoist offers a range of customization options, including themes, filters, and labels, allowing users to personalize their task management experience.

• Remote access: Todoist is available on multiple platforms, including web, mobile, and desktop, making it easy to access and manage tasks from anywhere.
• Reminders:Reminders feature sends notifications to users when a task is due or approaching its due date.
• Complexity:Some users may find Todoist’s interface and features overwhelming, especially if they are new to task management apps.
• No-offline access: Todoist requires an internet connection, which could be problematic for users who need offline access.

Pricing: $4/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available.

Miro is a powerful project management and collaboration tool that helps teams work more efficiently and effectively. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features, Miro allows teams to plan, execute, and deliver projects.

Miro features

Visual collaboration: Users can create boards, add sticky notes, and invite team members to work together from anywhere in the world. Integrations: Miro integrates with a variety of popular tools like Trello, Slack, and Google Drive. Templates: Miro provides a library of templates for different types of projects, including product roadmaps, user story maps, and agile boards.

• Customizable: Miro can be customized to fit the specific needs of a team or project.
• Real-time collaboration: Miro’s mobile app allows teams to work together in real-time, no matter where they are located.
• Miro can be expensive for smaller teams and individual users.
• There can be a learning curve for some users, especially those who are not familiar with visual collaboration tools.

Pricing:  $8/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available.

Hive is a productivity platform designed for teams to collaborate and streamline their workflow. It offers real-time communication, task management, and analytics to ensure teams stay on track and meet their goals.

Hive top features

Action templates:  Allows users to create and automate tasks, saving time and increasing efficiency. Forms:  Users can create custom forms to collect data and feedback from team members and stakeholders. External actions:  There is an option to integrate with external tools like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Salesforce.

• Customizable workspace: Users can personalize their workspace to fit their needs and preferences.
• Robust analytics: Provides detailed insights into team performance and project progress.
• Limited integrations: Compared to other project management tools, Hive has a limited number of integrations available.
• Limited mobile app functionality: The mobile app lacks some of the features available on the desktop version.

Pricing:  $5/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available.

Notion is a web based productivity and note-taking app comprising several organizational tools such as task management, to-do lists, project tracking and bookmarking.

Notion top features

Embeddable content:  Notion allows users to embed various types of content such as Google Docs, Trello boards, and more, enhancing collaboration and accessibility. Relational databases:  With Notion’s relational database feature, users can connect different types of data across multiple pages and databases, making it easier to track information and analyze data. Customizable templates:  Notion provides a vast selection of customizable templates.

• Powerful integrations: Notion integrates with Trello, Slack, and Google Drive, and more.
• Offline access: Notion allows users to work offline, ensuring that they can stay productive even when they don’t have an internet connection.
• Steep learning curve: Notion’s powerful features can take some time to fully understand and master, which may be a barrier to entry for some users.
• Multi-project management: Some users have reported that managing multi-projects on Notion is a very tedious process.

Pricing: $8/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available.

Comparison: Explore these Notion alternatives

15. Airtable

Airtable is a web-based low-code productivity platform to build collaborative apps. It’s designed for custom workflow creation, collaboration, and communication on shared development projects.

Airtable top features

Custom extensions:  With its Blocks SDK, users can create their own integrations, visualizations, and internal tools. Linked records:  Airtable’s Linked Records feature enables users to connect records from multiple tables within a single base, creating complex relational databases that are easy to manage. Automations:  With Airtable’s Automations, users can automate repetitive tasks and workflows without the need for complex coding or integration.

• Real-time data accessibility: Airtable functions like a relational database where teams can see centralized data as it changes or gets updated in real-time.
• Intuitive apps builder: Airtable’s no-code/low-code architecture allows users to build the tools that meet their needs.
• Limited reporting: Airtable’s reporting capabilities are limited compared to more advanced database software.
• Limited exporting options: Airtable’s exporting options are limited compared to more advanced database software.

Pricing:  $20/user/month with annual plan. Free plan available.

Comparison: Explore these Airtable alternatives

Choose the project management platform that will best fit your business

Well, that was a lot of information, wasn’t it? We’re here to help you make some sense of it all.

As more teams work remotely and more businesses see the value of an organized work environment, it’s so important that your business identifies which platform is right for you.

Do you want something focused on time and task management? Or something more complete (like monday.com) — a customizable, open platform that makes work…work.

What are the benefits of using software for project management?

Most successful organizations, teams, and individuals rely on software for project management because it offers many undeniable key benefits:

- Enhanced productivity - Centralized file and data access - Simple task management - Transparency between team members - Real-time goal setting and progress tracking - Accurate resource management - Better collaboration and communication

No matter team-size, we found that a good project management software should serve as an all-in-one tool and provides the following:

1. Portfolio management view so teams can stay on top of everything 2. Automations to automate aspects of team processes and get time back for the more important things 3. Dashboards to share valuable insight

• Agile project management
• Project scheduling software

Top 6 project scheduling software

Browse topics.

Completing projects can be challenging when juggling multiple workstreams, stakeholders, and deadlines. Project scheduling software can help. However, understanding its capabilities is crucial for optimizing project management processes.

The consequences of poor project management can be severe. Delays and budget overruns can damage a company’s reputation, strain client relationships, and hurt the bottom line. Team morale suffers when projects are constantly behind schedule or lack clear direction. Managers who fail to effectively plan and execute projects risk losing the confidence of their teams and superiors.

Project scheduling software provides a solution. These tools create a centralized platform to plan, organize, and manage projects efficiently. They help break down large projects into manageable tasks, assign resources, track progress, and identify potential roadblocks before they derail the project. By leveraging the capabilities of project scheduling software, managers can optimize their processes, improve collaboration, and consistently deliver successful projects on time and within budget.

This article will explore the importance of effective scheduling, including the key features and benefits of using project scheduling software and the top seven choices for your business.

What is project scheduling software?

Project scheduling software, also known as project management scheduling software, is a tool that creates a clear, up-to-date project schedule . This includes tasks, assignments, dependencies, and milestones. The main purpose of project scheduling software is to help plan, organize, and manage projects in a centralized system.

Importance of effective project scheduling

Effective project scheduling is essential because it is the roadmap for timely project delivery and optimal resource utilization.

For instance, a well-crafted project schedule breaks down the project into manageable tasks, assigns resources, and sets realistic timelines, helping the team work efficiently toward achieving project goals. And by clearly defining task dependencies, milestones, and critical paths, a robust schedule helps identify potential bottlenecks and risks early on for proactive mitigation and ensuring projects stay on track. Moreover, effective scheduling improves communication and coordination among team members and stakeholders so everyone clearly understands their roles, responsibilities, and deadlines. 

A meticulously planned and well-executed project schedule delivers high-quality results within the allocated budget and timeframe, increasing stakeholder satisfaction and overall project success.

Key features and benefits

The centralized platform project scheduling software allows all relevant business assets to be found in one location. This helps teams access project information, provide updates, and collaborate in real-time, regardless of location. Other features and benefits include:

• Smaller, manageable tasks : Breaking large projects into more manageable tasks makes them easier to assign.
• A timeline view : Similar to a Gantt chart , a timeline view helps map dependencies, plan work effectively, and visualize how tasks align with larger project goals or milestones.

Tracked progress : Identifying bottlenecks and making informed decisions helps keep projects on schedule and within budget.

Jira exemplifies the power of project scheduling software. It offers a range of features specifically designed to streamline project scheduling and task management. For example, you can

• Break down large projects into smaller, manageable tasks or “issues” and assign them. These issues can be moved across customizable boards, visually representing the project's workflow and progress.
• Get a timeline view to map dependencies, plan work effectively, and visualize how tasks align with larger project goals or milestones. 
• Integrate with Confluence so teams can create and share project-related documentation directly from within Jira. 
• Track progress, identify bottlenecks, and make informed decisions to keep projects on schedule and within budget with its robust reporting capabilities.

Choose from dozens of preconfigured Jira templates to quickly start new projects based on your completed projects.

Types of project scheduling software

Project scheduling programs encompass a range of tools that cater to various project management methodologies and organizational needs. Here are some examples:

• Gantt chart software visually represents project tasks, timelines, and dependencies for effective project planning and tracking of project schedules.
• Resource management tools optimize resource allocation by considering team member availability, skills, and workloads. 

Agile project management tools support iterative development and continuous delivery .

6 best project scheduling software

Several project scheduling software are available, each with unique features and use cases. Team leaders must first determine where in their project process they can improve. From there, which software is best for their scenario should become clearer. Here are the top choices for project scheduling software for teams:

Jira: Best overall project scheduling software

Jira streamlines task management , collaboration, and progress tracking, making it the best overall choice for project scheduling software. Some of the key features of Jira include:

• Boards visualize project workflows for efficient planning and task management.
• Issues break down projects into tasks with detailed assignments and updates.
• Timelines create clear project schedules with dependencies and milestones.
• Dashboards allow teams to view multiple projects and assignments in one place.
• Reports provide insights into project performance and health.

Templates enable new projects quickly with preconfigured options, including a project schedule template .

Confluence whiteboards: Best for project brainstorming

Confluence whiteboards  facilitate brainstorming and ideation sessions for distributed teams . With Confluence whiteboards, teams can:

• Collaborate on a zoomable canvas in real-time, adding sticky notes, shapes, images, and freehand drawings.

Integrate with other Atlassian products for a seamless transition from ideation to execution.

Jira Align: Best for strategic planning

Jira Align links strategic objectives with execution across multiple teams and projects. This powerful tool helps businesses:

• Support portfolio management with a comprehensive view of all initiatives to prioritize investments, allocate resources, and monitor progress against strategic goals . 

Support Agile scaling practices across the enterprise, such as SAFe and LeSS.

Jira Product Discovery: Best for project prioritization

Jira Product Discovery facilitates the entire product discovery process, from ideation to delivery. With Jira Product Discovery, teams can:

• Capture and organize product ideas, user feedback, and market insights in a centralized repository. 
• Evaluate and rank initiatives based on strategic alignment, customer value, and feasibility. 

Integrate with other Jira products to create detailed product requirements, user stories, and roadmaps that clearly define the project scope .

Jira Service Management: Best for incident management

Jira Service Management streamlines incident resolution and service delivery processes. With Jira Service Management, teams can:

• Capture, triage, and resolve incidents and service requests from various channels, including email, self-service portals, and chat integrations.

Define and enforce standardized processes for consistent and efficient incident and request handling.

Confluence whiteboards: best for brainstorming

Confluence  facilitates document creation, sharing, and knowledge management. With Confluence, teams can:

• Author, edit, and discuss project documentation, meeting notes, and knowledge bases collaboratively.

Create and link Confluence pages directly from Jira issues.

Jira: Best for workflow automation

Jira automates project workflows and streamlines processes. With Jira, teams can:

• Automate routine tasks, such as issue transitions, notifications, and approvals. 

Integrate with third-party tools and APIs to extend functionality and incorporate it into an existing technology stack.

Jira: Best for reporting and analytics

Jira provides many out-of-the-box reports, including issue analysis, forecasting, and workload management reports. Jira helps teams:

• Gain insights into project performance, resource utilization, and potential bottlenecks.
• Present project data clearly, organized through interactive timelines, dashboards, and customizable reports. 

Identify trends, predict future performance, and make informed decisions. This keeps projects on track and aligned with strategic objectives.

Improve project scheduling with Jira

Project scheduling software helps plan, organize, and manage projects efficiently so teams can work more productively and make data-driven decisions.

Jira stands out as a comprehensive solution. With Jira, teams can clearly understand what they're working on, how it contributes to the bigger picture, and what’s coming next. Pivot with agility and stay on track to meet goals, even as project requirements or priorities change. 

Get started with Jira

Project scheduling software: Frequently asked questions

How do i choose the right project scheduling software for my team.

Consider the size and complexity of your projects, your team's workflow, your methodology (e.g., Agile vs Waterfall ), and the specific features you need. For teams looking for an intuitive and user-friendly solution, Jira is an excellent choice for simple project scheduling software.

How does project scheduling software help with resource management?

Project scheduling software supports effective resource management and resource planning by helping project managers assign the right resources to the right tasks based on skills, availability, and workload.

Can project scheduling software accommodate different project management methodologies?

Yes. Agile teams use features such as sprint planning , backlog management , and burndown charts . Waterfall teams use Gantt charts, critical path analysis, and resource allocation tools.

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Software Project Management: Unique Skills for Highly Complex and Ever-Changing Projects

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In this article, you’ll find the most useful tips for learning how software project management practices and tools optimize release cycles and help bring state-of-the-art software to market quickly.

Included on this page, you'll find information on the six phases of the software development project lifecycle , details on project manager duties that align with the SDLC , as well as tips and best practices from software PM experts .

What Is Software Project Management?

Developing cutting-edge software is not easy and requires a controlled environment that manages time, resources, people, and costs to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery. The term software project management refers to the planning, scheduling, and organization of a software development project. 

Project management dates back to the start of human civilization, but modern project management was born in the early part of the 20th century, when Henry Gantt developed the Gantt chart. Today, project management practices take place across organizations of all sizes and in all industries, including manufacturing, information technology (IT), marketing, finance, and construction. You can find a concise history of project management methodologies here.  

John Tukey , a Princeton University statistician, introduced the term “software” in 1958. Initially, companies packaged software as part of the purchase or lease of a computer. In 1969, however, IBM began selling their software as a standalone product, thereby establishing an industry exclusively dedicated to software. As the industry grew, software manufacturers required formalized practices for controlling and releasing software tools. The already-popular project management practices were the perfect fit for managing the lifecycle of software projects.

Project Management Guide

Your one-stop shop for everything project management

Ready to get more out of your project management efforts? Visit our comprehensive project management guide for tips, best practices, and free resources to manage your work more effectively.

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Why Is Software Project Management Important?

Project managers have a big responsibility — one that involves much more than avoiding overdue, over-budget software projects. Software project management ensures that the project in question aligns with business goals, achieves high-quality results, and delivers real value to all stakeholders. 

Software development comes with multiple risks and challenges — frequent technology changes, immature technology, sloppy development practices, and staff and management turnover, to name a few. Creating software brings other potential challenges as well, such as navigating through stakeholder politics and communicating clearly with end-users, developers, and others. Failure to address such issues can lead to poorly defined system requirements and other problems. 

Software project management helps project managers overcome these complexities by inspiring end-user and stakeholder involvement, managing risks, and creating an environment for transparent communication. All of these capabilities help you set realistic project goals, estimate resource requirements more accurately, report on project status, and handle commercial pressures. Software project management offers strategic alignment, leadership, planning, practicality, quality assurance, and proven processes to combat chaos and complexity.

What Are the Types of Software Projects?

Software projects can fall into several categories depending on numerous factors, including the intended use of the software, the type of company developing the software, and the type of end-users. Here are a few of the most common types of software projects: 

• New software tools developed by existing software vendors or startups
• Updates, patch fixes, and version releases of an existing software solution
• Mobile applications
• Homegrown, internal support software solutions

The 6 Phases of the Software Development Project Lifecycle

The five phases of project management, developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI), work to standardize project management practices. Each step of the project lifecycle represents the activities necessary to complete the project. 

The software development lifecycle (SDLC), a unique software project management lifecycle process, aims to design, develop, and test the quality of software tools. (Note that there are several SDLC models — Agile currently dominates the industry due to its flexibility and fast pace.) 

Depending on the methodology you use (e.g., Agile, traditional Waterfall , iterative, v-shaped, spiral, big bang, or a hybrid approach), the phases of software development — also known as software project management stages or steps — you follow may be linear, overlap, repeat, or have varying amounts of focus placed on them. You may find different naming conventions across phases, but the following six steps are the most common designations for the major software development phases:

• Initiation/Planning
• Requirements
• Implementation

What Is the Software Planning Process?

Planning is the first phase in the SDLC and consists of several activities that set the stage for a successful software development project. Below are the software project planning activities and phases:

• Outline project goals.
• Create a baseline.
• Set a budget.
• Create deadlines.
• Identify stakeholders.
• Host a brainstorming session that includes the entire project team.
• Perform an analysis of past projects.
• Identify all tasks and break them down into subtasks.
• Create a list of all activities and assign them to an individual or group.
• Estimate timelines.
• Identify resources.
• Evaluate resource constraints.
• Consider outsourcing options.
• Allocate resources.
• Identify potential risks and impact.
• Perform qualitative and quantitative risk analyses.
• Create contingency plans.
• Identify the required functionality.
• Evaluate products.
• Select a solution.

A project planning template can help you begin mapping out your strategy. The template can be simple or complex, but it should allow for collaboration and real-time adjustments. Click here to download the top project planning templates.

Who Is Involved in Software Project Management?

The responsibilities of software project management — as well as the project results — touch many people and teams across an organization. A software project manager is typically responsible for the management of a project, and developers, engineers, IT, quality assurance (QA), employees from various business departments, contractors, and leadership are also involved at varying stages of the process. 

Additionally, clients and customers are involved in the SDLC during user acceptance testing (UAT), which is the final phase of the testing process. During this stage, users (typically clients and customers) put software to the test with real-world test cases to make sure the development is complete.

Software Project Manager Job Duties

Like other types of project managers, a software project manager is the project leader with a diverse set of responsibilities, including project planning, leadership, activity monitoring, time management, budgeting, communication, risk analysis, resource management, and change management. The primary responsibility of the software project manager, though, is to ensure that the team adheres to the SDLC.

If we look at the phases of the SDLC, we can better visualize the many hats worn by the software project manager.

• Define the project scope.
• Gather feedback and buy-in from all stakeholders.
• Decomposition Techniques: These methods use a breakdown of significant project activities to estimate size, effort, and associated costs.
• Empirical Estimation Techniques: These methods use an educated guess from an expert or group of experts. The techniques base decisions on previous software development projects and apply lines of code (LOC) or function points (FP) in the formula. COCOMO and Putnam are two empirical techniques.
• Divide work into subtasks and relate similar tasks.
• Assign responsibilities based on availability by creating resource requests.
• Create a change control, quality control, communication, and risk management plan.
• Host a project kickoff meeting.
• Estimate project costs, including software, hardware, tools, licenses, human resources, travel expenses, communication needs, training tools, and additional project support.
• Create a business requirements document.
• Create an implementation plan.
• Take an active role in the software design document.
• Execute the active development portion of the project.
• Monitor activities and milestones.
• Share status reports with all stakeholders.
• Measure progress and performance along the way.
• Remain informed on user acceptance testing results.
• Ensure the team makes appropriate updates.
• Close project activity.
• Ensure that all tasks are complete.
• Evaluate project performance.
• Execute the next steps.

Risk analysis and management will take place throughout the entire SDLC. The project manager must have the skills and insight to monitor for, identify, categorize, and manage risks that may occur. If problems arise, they must be able to manage changes (i.e., identify, validate, analyze, control, and execute changes) to reduce or remove risk. 

Based on the aforementioned responsibilities of the software project manager, it comes as no surprise that a qualified candidate must possess outstanding multitasking skills. Strong communication and leadership skills, as well as technical acumen, are also vital, along with the ability to pay close attention to detail and remain organized amidst constant change.

Software Project Management Metrics

Each project is subject to unique metrics based on the goals of the business. In other words, all metrics should answer business-related questions. Below are four useful software project management metrics:

• Satisfaction: How satisfied are stakeholders with the project? Similar to a net promoter score , this post-project survey contains a question that calculates the overall satisfaction on a numerical scale.
• Delivery: This refers to the percentage of projects that the team completes on time.
• Cost: This refers to the percentage of projects on which the team stays within budget.
• Defects: This refers to the amount of defects that the team identifies and repairs during the project versus the amount of errors that users report post-implementation.

The Benefits of Software Project Management

Project management can be a significant expense for some organizations, but when software projects involve numerous stakeholders, tasks, and teams — and the results impact customers — the benefits easily outweigh the risks. A project manager can reduce overall expenses by streamlining operations. A project manager has the power to keep a project on time and within budget, but, more importantly, they can create a relationship between internal stakeholders and clients, improving communication and visibility into projects. Additionally, they can reduce risks that negatively impact an organization and minimize the number of issues that can burden software development teams.

Challenges That Impact Software Project Management

Software project management is packed with benefits, but there are potential issues that may arise. These challenges are generally prominent in organizations that attempt to take a cookie-cutter approach, rather than considering each software project individually before applying project management methods. Start by evaluating each project one by one to accommodate unique requirements. 

For example, some project management solutions are too expensive for small software development teams. If you purchase a needlessly pricey solution, you risk yielding little return on your investment. Software project management solutions do not have to be costly; spreadsheets and basic solutions are available at minimal expense. And, some software projects may not even require an extensive project management solution. In fact, in the case of a simple project, implementing a complicated solution may do more harm than good. Be sure to consider the type of software projects your team will be managing before investing in a software project management solution.

Tips and Best Practices for Software Project Managers

We have talked about the software development lifecycle and a software project manager’s typical duties, but what are some best practices that contribute to project success? Here are just a few things a project manager can do to build trust and create a high-quality relationship with their team: 

• Understand and articulate a company’s needs and goals.
• Gather team feedback.
• Break down a plan into daily tasks.
• Stick to that plan (or make changes only when necessary). 
• Share successes to inspire and encourage a team. 

Alan Zucker, a project management instructor, advisory consultant, and Founding Principal of Project Management Essentials , recognizes the current communication challenges that project managers face and offers this advice: “Project managers spend nearly 90 percent of their time communicating with team members and stakeholders. The Project Management Institute has researched this subject extensively and supports this statistic. While the most effective form of communication is face to face, many of today’s project teams include remote members. Closing the communication quality gap using an online project management tool can help build relationships and effective collaboration.”

Sergei Brovkin holds an MBA, is a certified PMP, and is a Lean and Six Sigma leader. He echoes the need for excellent communication: “Communication is critical. Set up project meetings from day zero and be sure that they are productive and that everyone attends them. Make sure you fully understand the strategic direction and purpose of the project and be able to explain it clearly.” 

In addition to possessing the human-touch elements, software project managers must have technical acumen, be able to separate development from non-development tasks, understand the number and types of users the software tool serves, and have insight into pricing models and deployment methods.

What Software Is Best for Project Management?

Finding the right project management software can be tricky. As mentioned earlier, you must analyze the type of projects you will manage, their complexity and intricacy of detail, your team’s size, and your budget to help you determine the best solution for project success. A software’s features and methods of deployment (in-house versus cloud) are essential considerations. Look at tools that offer Gantt charts , PERT diagrams , resource histograms , and critical path analysis functions. To help you choose the right project management software, read “All about Project Management Software.”

Features to Look for in Software Project Management Tools

A project manager’s workload can quickly become overwhelming. As mentioned in the discussion of the SDLC and project managers’ duties, project managers have a wide variety of responsibilities. But, there are hundreds of software project management tools available to help; they range from individual to mid-sized and high-end systems. To identify the best tool for you, first determine your organization size, the type(s) of software projects you’ll be doing, and which development methodology you’ll be using. Below, you will find features that support the planning, execution, and control of each phase of the SDLC.

• Project estimation 
• Scope definition, verification, and control 
• Project scheduling/calendar
• Resource management
• Risk management planning and control
• Task management with priorities and categories
• Budget management and forecasting
• Time and expense management
• Project monitoring and control
• Team collaboration and communication (online discussions and chat, video, and email notifications)
• Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and PERT diagrams
• Milestone tracking
• Document management and file storage
• Analysis, reports, key performance indicators (KPIs), dashboards, and objectives and key results (OKRs), including cost-to-complete analyses
• Permissions and user roles
• Workflow processes
• Portfolio management
• Billing and invoicing
• Mobile apps for iOS and Android
• Easy to use, drag-and-drop configurations and out-of-the-box templates
• Contact management
• Change management
• Configuration management
• Release management
• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Product roadmaps
• Backlogs/stories
• Bug tracking
• Client portals for communication, UAT, and approvals

The Future of Software Project Management

Emerging technology is revolutionizing every aspect of the technology industry. AI, natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning are already transforming consumer interactions, and it’s only a matter of time before bots are also handling project management activities. Employee expectations are changing, too. Workers now seek flexible, remote work environments, along with the use of personal devices for work purposes (e.g., bring your own device [BYOD]). In many industries, a remote workforce is already the norm. 

Project managers are facing the challenge of communicating with a remote workforce, while also having to worry about robots that will take their jobs. Over the next few years, project managers will experience the effects of digital transformation, which will minimize issues that currently cause project delays. Intelligent tools may take on some project management tasks, leaving human project managers to focus on more strategic activities. In addition, technology that improves communication with the increasingly distributed workforce will become the standard. In the near future, companies will have fully adopted and implemented technology and practices that support today’s modern workers. Then, we will move on to the next technological revolution.

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The Teamwork.com guide to software development project management

No matter the size of your software development team, there are bound to be many moving parts with any new software project. The margin for error with a software development project is minuscule — even the smallest mistakes can cost your business a lot of money. More than ever, implementing project management into your software development process is key to getting everybody on the same page while minimizing errors and keeping projects on schedule.

But it's important to understand that basic project management and software development project management are not the same. Software development projects have some unique nuances that make proper management practices absolutely critical. By having a better understanding of what software development project management is, how you can use it, and how it differs from other implementations of project management processes, you can set your software development team up for success.

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• What is software development project management?

Software project management uses project management practices and systems to help accomplish software-related objectives. Product development teams use it to deliver projects of all shapes and sizes, including:

New product and software development

Patches and updates

Configuration management

Information system development

Test-driven development (TDD)

Just about any software development project is complicated enough to benefit from the use of project management. For example, software developers may use project management to brainstorm new software innovations. Businesses can also use software project management to create real-time product roadmaps, where they can define goals and timelines for a software product in one place. Likewise, a project management platform facilitates almost all software development project management. This is a shared digital workspace where the project is managed from start to finish.

• The software development project management process

So, what does the actual process of software development project management look like? While this can vary from one project to the next, most will go through the following phases:

Completion/Evaluation

Phase #1: Initiation

During initiation, the most basic project requirements are defined. This could be anything from creating new software to fixing existing software with faulty user experience (UX). The commissioning stakeholder and leaders of the project team should document the requirements they agree upon as a project charter . Once the charter has been approved and signed by all key project stakeholders , the project can begin.

The initiation phase is also an important one for project managers. During this time, project managers should expect to lead the rest of the software development team in creating a project charter and identifying key project stakeholders. During this time, conducting a feasibility study may also be necessary to evaluate whether the software development project is worth carrying out based on its criteria, available resources, and cash flow.

Phase #2: Planning

Next comes the Planning phase, where the team collaborates to formulate the project plan . One of the key outputs of project planning is a set of project deliverables. These are the specific items that the project will result in, which could range from new software products to security patches. It's common for a software project to have multiple deliverables.

Another important element of planning is defining the criteria that will be used to measure project success. Widely used success criteria for software projects include quality targets, whether the project was delivered on time, and whether the project stuck to the original budget. Anything that would ultimately make the project a success can be considered here.

Once you line up your deliverables and success criteria, you can move on to planning the activities that make up the project work. Elements of this process include:

Identifying, creating, and assigning tasks

Specifying project milestones , which represent key landmarks on the journey to project completion

Identifying dependencies between tasks, where completion of one task depends on another task being finished first

Grouping linked tasks into task lists

Another important aspect of the planning phase is the collaboration between software development teams and other teams or departments. For example, gathering insights and ideas from customers, marketing teams, and sales departments can provide useful information for planning the remainder of the project.

Phase #3: Execution

The Execution phase of a software project spans the active work of the software development process. This, as all developers know, represents a further series of processes that include design, development, testing, and quality assurance (QA) tasks. Your team should complete this work through your chosen development workflow.

The role of project management throughout this phase largely focuses on project monitoring. This includes tracking project progress against the time available and identifying blockers that could impede the team's progress. During this time, project managers should continue to maintain effective collaboration among software development team members and all stakeholders involved.

Phase #4: Evaluation

In the final phase of the project cycle, software teams should meet up (either face-to-face or digitally) to jointly evaluate the project.

Team members should ask themselves which parts of the project worked well versus what held it back. It's also a good idea to note any lessons learned that could be valuable to remember when planning for the next project. During this time, project managers should also expect to compare the project's final cost with the budgeted cost. This information can improve your team's productivity and efficiency in the long run.

In some project management methodologies , this evaluation process is facilitated through meetings called retrospectives. These reflective meetings provide an excellent opportunity for software teams to review their successes and potential areas for improvement throughout all stages of the project while offering a sense of closure as well.

Teams that benefit from project management

Any type of software development project can benefit from having a management strategy in place. After all, software development is unique in its sheer complexity, high cost, and uncertainty. Developing software comes with some huge risks and challenges — and with so many moving parts, the potential for problems is significant. Having a project management plan in place can benefit many types of software development projects, including:

Front-end development: Working on the part of the software that the end-user sees. This can include building user interfaces, managing client-side behavior, and similar factors.

Back-end development: The part of the software that works "behind the scenes," such as dealing with servers and databases.

Full stack development: A combination of front- and back-end development, where a software team is working on both client- and server-side features.

App development: The creation of any computer program that carries out tasks to achieve specific objectives. Important aspects of application development can include designing prototypes, testing, app development costs and launching mobile-or web-based versions.

Data science: This refers not to specific software programs that reach end users, but the software or programming that is used within this software to make it more useful.

Mobile development: Any tasks related to creating mobile software apps, including native app development or Swift programming (depending on whether the app is designed for Android, iOS, or both).

Cloud computing development: The development of software resources that you can use on-demand without the need for complex physical systems or infrastructure (Google Drive is an excellent example of a cloud-based platform ).

Security software development: The development of software that is designed to protect information. An important part of developing this type of software is testing for vulnerabilities and patching them.

Embedded systems development: Embedded systems exist in most of the devices used today, allowing them to extend their functionalities beyond the original hardware. Development of these systems includes creating and testing middleware.

As you can see, the scope of software development projects can range greatly from basic front-end development to security software development and everything in between. With so many variations and so much potentially at stake, having effective software project management in place is a must. Specifically, software project management keeps development on track while keeping team members informed and projects on budget.

• Software development <3 agile project management

Software development projects are often managed according to agile project management principles. This makes a lot of sense, given that software developers invented agile.

Agile is a set of principles that form the basis of leading project management methodologies — such as scrum and kanban . It underpins the thinking behind most contemporary project management processes. Today, 36% of software development teams use this approach.

Satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

Welcome change and harness it to the client's potential advantage.

Deliver working software frequently and over short timescales.

Facilitate people on the business and development sides of the team to work together closely, day-to-day.

Support and trust team members to do their jobs.

Relay information effectively through one-on-one conversations.

Measure progress through software functionality.

Ensure the rate of work, progress, and software use is sustainable.

Focus on consistent attention to technical excellence and effective design.

Prioritize simplicity to maximize the amount of work completed.

Enable teams to self-organize.

Give teams regular opportunities to self-reflect and adjust as needed.

Paying heed to these 12 principles is a wise move for software development teams, so we recommend building these into your project management process.

Software engineers gradually pieced together Agile project management in the latter decades of the 20th century. Today, all kinds of teams use it to deliver their projects, including government departments, creative agencies , web developers, and (of course) software engineers. Undoubtedly, software engineers will continue to use these project management principles to build useful things for the future.

Software project manager: Role and responsibilities

Most software development teams will benefit from working with a specialist software project manager. This person leads the team through the project management process, often drawing upon existing software development knowledge and project management experience.

Responsibilities commonly listed in software project manager job descriptions include:

Leading and assisting software projects

Delivering status reports to senior stakeholders

Leading on change control (this process ensures changes to a deliverable are within accepted parameters)

Handling project communication

Managing multiple projects at once

Creating and maintaining project documentation

Measuring project performance using appropriate tools and metrics

More than ever, relying on an experienced project manager is important to the overall success of your software development project. With the right project manager in place, you'll have a reliable point of contact for your entire software project (regardless of the specific type) and a professional to oversee your entire development team.

Can you manage a software project without a project manager?

Either by choice or through budgetary necessity, some software development teams use a project management approach without the involvement of a project manager. Ultimately, having a project manager in place is always your best bet — as a dedicated project manager will:

Improve collaboration and communication among team members.

Boost resource management.

Better manage your project budget.

Organize and centralize your data.

Using the right project management tools with your next software development project can help if your budget doesn't allow for a project manager. Just be sure to have these three things in place to maximize success:

Strong project management capabilities within your own development team. Consider having project manager responsibilities "rotate" through the team for each new project for the best results.

Clear allocation of project management duties to team members.

An intuitive project management platform with attentive customer support.

Recommended project management tactics for software development teams

While a generic project management approach usually works for managing software development projects, we recommend incorporating the following specialized methods into your process.

Project estimation techniques

Estimating the amount of work that will be required for any new software project is extremely challenging, especially for non-technical stakeholders who may lack a developer's intuition for the complexity of software development tasks. However, some techniques can come in handy when it comes to project estimation, including:

Analogous estimation, where project scope elements are estimated based on comparison with similar elements of previous projects.

Parametric estimation, where measures such as the average cost of writing a certain number of lines of code are used to estimate project cost.

Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT), where a graphical representation of a project's timeline is used to estimate the time and resources needed to complete a project.

Management of project scope

Software projects are vulnerable to scope creep , where a project's requirements greatly increase over the project's lifetime. Some creep is to be expected, but too much can prevent projects from being delivered on time and on budget.

The best way to keep scope creep in check? Taking a thorough and critical approach to software development project management. The more carefully your project is planned and managed, the more easily you'll be able to identify issues early in the development phase. From there, you can plan workarounds to keep your project on track.

Project risk management

In software development, a project risk is any event outside of a project that could affect the final outcome (whether for better or worse). This could be anything from an unexpected launch of a competing product to an unexpected change in user behavior. With the right project management strategies in place, your team can monitor project risk at all stages and take the measures needed to adapt and overcome.

• Project management tools for software development teams

Software development teams tend to use a project management platform to help deliver their projects. This tool provides a digital project workspace where team members can collaborate in real-time while easily tracking the moving parts of a project.

With the right project management tool on your side, your software development project management processes will be equipped to run smoothly. The end result? Your teams can deliver great software that meets all your goals and objectives.

So, what are some of the best project management tools out there for software development teams today? Consider these top picks:

1. Teamwork.com

An all-in-one project management solution that offers plenty of integrations with your team's existing tools, along with an easy-to-use interface and customizable resource management solutions.

An agile management tool useful for tracking task completion, creating user stories, and tracking bugs during development.

A task completion tracker useful for software development teams looking for more visual ways to track their projects from start to finish.

Manage your software development teams more effectively with Teamwork.com

Shy of hiring a dedicated project manager for your next software development project, using a software development project management platform is probably the best thing you can do to produce better-performing software that's on budget and on time. Teamwork..com's easy-to-use project management platform supports your software development teams at all stages of the process, so why not give it a try for yourself? Reach out to our team to learn more or to start your free trial !

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Teamwork guide to software development project management

• What types of software development can benefit from project management?
• Software project manager role and responsibilities
• Project management tactics for software development teams

Síle is a Senior Content Marketing Manager at Teamwork.com. She has been working in the project management software space for over 7 years, exclusively serving the agency sector. She loves providing agencies with actionable insights and captivating content to help navigate the ever-evolving landscape of project management.

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• Software Engineering Tutorial
• Software Development Life Cycle
• Waterfall Model
• Software Requirements
• Software Measurement and Metrics
• Software Design Process
• System configuration management
• Software Maintenance
• Software Development Tutorial
• Software Testing Tutorial
• Product Management Tutorial
• Project Management Tutorial
• Agile Methodology
• Selenium Basics

Top 15 Software Engineering Projects (2024)

• Top 10 Software Engineer Skills to Learn in 2024
• 10 Best Project Management Software in 2024
• Top 20 Resume Objective Examples For Software Engineers [2023]
• Top Software Engineering Interview Questions and Answers [2024]
• How to Stand Out as a Software Engineer in 2021
• How To Become A Software Engineer in 2024?
• Top 10 Rust Project Ideas With Source Code in 2024
• AI in Software Engineering
• COCOMO Model-Software Engineering
• Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs For Software Engineers
• Top 10 DevOps Projects with Source Code [2024]
• Top 10 C# Project Ideas for Beginners in 2024
• Top 10 Best Software Development Projects in 2023
• Top 50 Software Development Project Ideas [Beginners]
• Top 12 Software Development Languages [2024]
• TCS Work Experience as Software Engineer
• 10 Best Free Project Management Software for Windows in 2024
• Software Engineer Jobs in Canada

Software Engineering has become the mainstream for IT Industry today. Every year more than 3 Lakh students land software engineering jobs as fresher and the demand for software engineers has been rapidly rising. 

With the increase in demand, the competition has been rising every year and it would require you to practice rigorously so that you can easily fit into IT Industry. To begin with this, you are required to analyze which domain (programming language & S.E. stream) to pick, and then only you’ll be able to build projects to gain expertise and confidence .

In this article, we will be sharing the best hand-picked software engineering projects from Beginner – Intermediate – Expert levels that will help you in sharpening your programming skills.

But, before we move ahead, let’s talk about the need for software engineering in today’s world. 

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Why is Software Engineering Required?

Today, every business (small or medium, or large) wants to keep itself updated. The demand for software engineering has grown 3x – 4x ever since (past 10 years stats) . Software Engineering & Software Development requires developers to keep digging for a better approach and they also help in organizing, managing, and delivering quality output within the timeline.

Besides this, some of the major companies/sectors that are actively hiring Computer Science Engineers are:

• Technology – 37%
• Fortune 500 – 21%
• Telecommunication – 5%
• Media – 5%
• Internet – 5%

As of now, there are more than 1,02,000+ (India) jobs available for software engineers & 9,02,000+ (Worldwide) , and the figures are continuously growing every day. In this article, we’re going to talk about how we can achieve certain goals to become good software engineers along, and the ability to deliver high-quality post-service guidance/maintenance. You’ll get some of the best software engineering projects be it a beginner, intermediate or expert level.

Software Engineering Projects For Beginners

1. chess game.

It’s a well-designed game built to play in a very interactive way where pieces get moved from block to block by the system itself. This project is built to predict (human) moves and accordingly, it takes action. This app can be so satisfying and will make you feel like you’re playing in the real world. The best part is that you can even play with friends (remotely) and with the computer as well.

It would require you to set up a MySQL database so that user’s details can be stored (including name, score, ranking, etc.). You can also check out the article based on Chess Game for the best reference.

Key Features

• The “Moves” section will keep track of all the records of the player’s moves and will proceed accordingly
• This game will directly start with the main display and that will accelerate processing speed. 
• A bare minimum system is required for this app – Windows XP or Windows 7

2. Social Networking

This is a beginner-level web-based social networking system that can be built in the software industry (small-scale) for any group, community, college, school, etc. The best part about this app is that it helps in connecting the targeted group and all the necessary details/announcements can be broadcasted seamlessly.

There will be 2 major modules in this project, i.e. Admin & Participants in which participants will be allowed to upload images, post feeds, follow or add people, etc. Besides this, all the feeds can be viewed by participants from the main section and they can even communicate with each other (just like Facebook Messenger) to establish a better connection.

• This software engineer project can be helpful especially for students to keep track of everything like Placement details, Course Material, Lecture schedules, etc.
• The admin will have access to remove any user or post.
• The user will have multiple methods for signing up for their account.

3. Web Scraping

Web Scraping is a fun activity app that can be built for features like customer review analysis, price prediction, lead generation, data collection, etc. It is very useful to build projects by using Beautiful Soup (which is a free, open-source Python Library), and all the necessary data can be crawled back as per the preference.

Companies like Expedia, Amazon, Skyscanner, etc. are actively using this method to offer customers a door for analysis/comparison. This gives an opportunity for users to pick any item or submit a review on any platform (such as Amazon) as per their choice (fully transparent).

• This tool can be used for performing sentimental analysis.
• If you want to build any analytic system/app, then it is suggested to use Selenium & smtplib
• Web scraping is a big tool for providing assistance in scaling up businesses on a mass level.

4. Calculator

One of the best software engineering projects is a simple or scientific calculator that can be used for educational organizations. This tool can be the best solution for solving complex mathematical calculations and it majorly focuses on numbers, arithmetic operations, etc. which are well-suitable for engineering students.

However, a simple calculator can also work well, but to generate powerful calculations, this tool can be the overall solution. Besides this, it’s a beginner-level software engineering project and you can easily find related apps over play/app store.

• OS: Windows XP or 10
• Processor: Pentium IV 
• RAM: 512 MB Hard disk: 2 GB
• Language: C Programming
• The calculator will be simple to use & response time will be extremely fast
• Multiplication
• Subtraction
• Square Root 
• Inverse, etc.

5. To-do List

It’s a fancy way of maintaining records to carry out all your daily tasks. It’s a simple, web-based app that enables users to add, edit, delete, etc. to their list. Besides this, users will have the option to change font, text color, mark pointers, share on any other platform, etc. You may find similar apps on the play store/app store too.

If you want to start building this project, we recommend you check JavaScript Project on your To-do List and start working on it right away.

• You can start building this project with minimal requirements. However, they can be scaled up on a higher level (depending on the changes you’re looking for).
• There would be some basic items in this app – Title, Description, Priority, Checklist, etc.
•  These software engineer projects are highly useful as it provides users to share their To-do lists on any platform.

Software Engineering Projects For Intermediate

6. daily reminder.

The Task reminder app is a useful project to keep track of every necessary task regularly. In this application, users will be allowed to view all of their tasks in the form of a list. You can even set custom reminders for any dedicated tasks along with the Alarm tone so that you never skip any daily/weekly/monthly task.

It’s a simple app that can save a lot of time and can be a useful resource for achieving your goals. You can start working on this project by carrying below-mentioned prerequisites:

• Android Studio
• Java or Kotlin
• This task can be built using Android Studio (Java & XML), SQLite, etc.
• Users can add, edit or remove any task along with the date & time
• The user will also be allowed to put notifications on any of the certain tasks 

7. Weather Forecasting

This project is being divided into two modules, Data Gathering & Pre-processing, and Prediction Algorithm. This project would be based on prediction and that’s why data needs to be prepared in a structured way. For this, you can either be parsing or one-hot encoding. It’s best to implement Scikit-Learn (linear regression) model to train the datasets and once they’re trained you can provide inputs (temp, pressure, etc.)

This app is well-capable in predicting 6-7 days (up to) data sets and will fetch weather details on an hourly basis. It will also offer users to change location and measurements as per their choices. 

• This project would require Linear Regression to predict the amount of Rainfall (in inches).
• This project will take certain parameters to measure weather i.e. temperature, humidity, wind speed, etc.
• Software requirement – Jupyter Notebook, Windows/Linux, Python 3, etc. 

8. Local Train Ticketing System

This a simple Java-based ticketing platform by which users can book tickets as per their choices for traveling in local trains. Users will have the option to choose the number of seats, class, and journey date, along with the source and destination.  

The payment system can also be included in this application so that users can add funds (via UPI, Netbanking, debit/credit cards, etc.), and likewise, they won’t be required to print their tickets while traveling. This will allow the user to download their tickets in pdf or other formats (just like a movie ticket), and with the same mode, they can also request to Cancel their tickets within 3 hours of the journey.

Key Features:

• Booking Panel
• With the help of this app, users can save a lot of time & users will no longer be required to stand in queues for hours.

The course on Full Stack Development with React & Node JS – Live  is the best choice if you want to become a full-stack web developer. Along with learning, this course also has some MCQ-based learning, and track-based learning methods, and at the end of the course, you’ll also get a course completion certificate which when added to your resume adds value to it. 

9. Patient Tracker

This is an Android-based application that aims to ensure maintain patient information along with the medical condition. In this project, the doctor would be able to fetch all the records of the patient every time he/she visits for a checkup. This will require Eclipse and SQL to build this project.

This system will work in two phases where the first would be for the patient to submit their record and the other one would be for the dedicated doctor who will fetch and check all the necessary details. This system will eliminate all the unnecessary paper works and will eventually reduce human interaction.

• This project will be beneficial for patients to maintain their medical records and to participate actively to keep themselves aware.
• Doctors can look into records by just applying a filter for the arrival date, disease, last visit, etc.
• This project is efficient to deploy in small-mid segment hospitals/dispensaries. 

10. Online Fuel Delivery

The working module of this project is based on a food delivery system (app). You can use Kotlin or Flutter to build this project in which the user can order both Petrol and Diesel. Once the order is placed, users will be notified with their transaction details and delivery will be made at their location. 

However, you may also find apps like Yoshi, Fuelster, etc. are working on the same pattern. It is also one of the best ways of saving time, minimizing expenses, and providing service during emergencies.

• The app will consist of 3 main modules i.e. Admin, User, and Driver
• In this, users will also have the option to compare fuel stations (by distance, ratings, availability, etc.)
• In this project, both user and the fuel station will have the option to modify or cancel the placed order.

Software Engineering Projects For Expert

11. exchanging loyalty points.

Nowadays most companies & banks are offering loyalty points on every purchase they make. But, the major drawback is that more than 60% of points get wasted due to unstable tracking of those points. To boost this, blockchain-based exchange of loyalty points will enable an easy exchange platform for their users.

With this project, a tokenized loyalty point system can be introduced so that perform 3 tasks seamlessly:

• Track their loyalty points
• To check no tampering has been done
• To spend loyalty points on their desired choices
• This software engineer project aims to provide a decentralized system which means there will be only one ownership i.e. USER
• This project aims to provide advanced high security which can be achieved using Tomochain , which is a scalable blockchain network.
• This project can reduce operational costs and will minimize the chances of errors.

12. Fingerprint Voting System

This project focuses on building a finger-print EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) that will lead to conducting successful elections. It’s a solid solution for any small-scale elections and can also be used within organizations for conducting polls during meetings.

Since, this project runs in electronic mode, the manpower, time, and transportation would be relieved if this can be planned to introduce on a bigger scale. It would also require Proteus Design Suite for ARM module operation which will alert when one candidate will try to vote multiple times.

• This project would require – 1 Voting System, a Fingerprint module, and an ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) controller.
• Paperless User Identification can be conducted after the introduction of fingerprint EVM which can save lots of time and resources.
• In this project, both the candidates and the admin can view the results in real-time.

13. Railway Time Tracking & Prediction System

This app is intended to build to fetch details from one end and push it to the user’s end. By using this application, users can easily track their train along with its timing, running status, and expected time to reach (user’s desired) station. It’s a web-based application having two modules i.e. admin and user.

Applications like these use predictive methods and rail tracking applications can also be found nowadays on the play store and app store. The app will be designed to help local commuters and can also be used to use for tracking buses (after applying minor upgradation).

• This software engineer project entails an admin system (module) that will fetch all the required details of the train including train number, timing, etc. and the same will be passed through the server which can be later tracked by the user.
• Admin will have permission to add/remove information such as train arrival, expected arrival/departure, and so on.
• Software Requirements: Windows – SQL – VS 2010

14. Suspicious Activity Tracker

This project will build an automated AI camera system to track any suspicious activity to prevent any unfortunate incidents in Banks, Malls, Airports, etc. The activity tracker will use schematics to work on the behavioral patterns and gestures of a person on the live feed.

If any such activity (fighting, pointing guns, etc.) occurs, an automated alarm will start ringing and nearby Police will get notified about the incident. This would require training cameras and deploying ML models, also customized functions can be added for auto-triggering the message/calls. 

• Raspberry Pi 4
• Speaker or Amplifier
• This software engineer project would require an ML model to teach working on normal modules such as walking, talking, reading, etc. so that the camera can be trained for this project.
• You can use TensorFlow, Lobe, or Edge Impulse to prepare this model and the method can be aligned with Raspberry Pi to convert the normal camera into a smart one.

15. Emotion-Based Music Player

The introduction of AER (Audio Emotion Recognition) and MIR (Music Information Retrieval) has made it possible to build systems by applying machine learning algorithms. This project entails working on automation to generate playlists for users.

Where the AER technology will evaluate the audio waves depending on the mood and emotions of the user, the MIR will follow a pattern to fetch the desired outputs based on the provided input.

• The emotion modules included in this project could be sadness, joy-anger, joy-surprise, joy-excitement, joy, sad-anger, and anger.
• The accuracy may vary between 80% -90% for detecting real-time images.
• This software engineering project can revolve around three pillars i.e. Audio Feature Extraction Module, Emotion-Audio Recognition Module, and Emotion Extraction Module.

Why is Project-Based Learning Effective? 

It’s always said that practice is better than theory and that’s what coding is all about. The more you will practice, the more you’ll grab concepts. PBL or Project-based learning enables students to implement coding effectively through active participation, joining webinars, sharing thoughts, etc. College students can take a lot of benefits out of it in 5 major ways:

• Critical Thinking
• In-depth knowledge of any Live project

In other words, Project-based Learning can provide an opportunity, to build strong relationships, improve test results and create more projects that can provide benefits during placements.

Conclusion 

The objective was to provide a list of software engineer project ideas for all levels i.e. Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Working on projects can be fun, and that’s how you’ll learn and grow in the IT industry. In this article, we have provided a segregated list of different levels of projects and any language can be chosen to start with the project. 

It’s time for you to start creating some cool apps and push them Live for general usage. However, if you wish to check out more apps, you can browse the Internet to find out the resources that might be helpful during your software engineering journey. 

What are the different types of software projects?

There are majorly two classifications of software – Application Software and System Software. Working on a Software Engineering project requires an individual to use the right tools & technology (such as Python, Java, etc.). Some of the major kinds of Software Engineering projects are: Front-end Development Back-end Development Desktop GUI Application Full-stack Development Mobile App Development Database Development Web Development DevOps, etc.

Which project is best for software engineering?

Software engineering is a vast category & caters to many segments, they are responsible for creating games apps, web-based apps, etc. This can be achieved using different programming languages, frameworks, etc. Some of the best software engineering projects include: Chess Game Calculator Fuel Tracker Ticket System Web Scraping, etc.

Which software engineering projects are best for college students?

College students are required to work with beginner’s level engineering projects which require less expertise, some of them are: Health Management System Website Designing CRM for School/College Campus Face Detection Battery Saver

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23 Best Software Development Project Ideas & Topics for Beginners [updated 2024]

In this article, you will learn the 23 Exciting Software Development Project Ideas & Topics for 2023 . Take a glimpse below.

Best Software Development Project Ideas & Topics For Final Year Students

• Android task monitoring
• Sentiment analysis for product rating
• Fingerprint-based ATM system
• Advanced employee management system
• Image encryption using the AES algorithm
• Fingerprint voting system
• Weather forecasting system
• Android local train ticketing system
• Railway tracking and arrival time prediction system
• Android Patient Tracker
• Opinion mining for social networking platforms
• Automated payroll system with GPS tracking and image capture
• Data leakage detection system
• Credit card fraud detection
• AI shopping system
• Camera motion sensor system
• Bug tracker
• e-Learning platform
• Smart health prediction system
• Software piracy protection system
• Face detector
• Voice Recognition

Read the full article to know more about the project Ideas & Topics in detail.

Software development innovative project ideas are an integral part of a Software Engineer/Developer’s career graph. Once you attain the requisite knowledge and skills in software development, if you don’t put that knowledge and expertise to the test, they’ll be of little or no use. This is why Software Developers readily take on software development projects immediately after completing their formal education. 

In the present industry, if you wish to land a promising job in the field of Software Development, you must have a few software development projects under your belt. As a matter of fact, during interviews for Software Development job roles, almost all potential employers will ask you whether or not you have any unique programming project ideas and if you have worked on any real-world development projects. These real time projects can also be used as final-year project ideas for IT students.

You can also check out our free courses offered by upGrad in Management, Data Science, Machine Learning, Digital Marketing, and Technology. 

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By working on live software development minor project topics , you can spice up your resume and position yourself as an ideal candidate for Software Development roles.

Learn  Software development Courses  online from the World’s top Universities. Earn Executive PG Programs, Advanced Certificate Programs, or Masters Programs to fast-track your career.

In this post, we’ll talk about 20 interesting Software Development project topics that are excellent for honing your programming and development skills.c

Let us now look at the 28 most innovative project ideas for students of software development that are highly engaging and extremely relevant in today’s world. 

What is a Software Engineering Project?

A software engineering project involves designing, developing, and testing software applications or systems to meet specific user needs. These projects range from creating mobile apps and web services to developing complex systems like operating systems or network control software. The process typically includes planning, implementation, testing, and maintenance to ensure the software is efficient, scalable, and reliable.

Software Development Project Ideas for Beginners

This list of software engineering projects for students is suited for beginners, and those just starting out with software engineering in general. These software engineering projects will get you going with all the practicalities you need to succeed in your career as a software engineering professional. The focal point of these software engineering projects is software engineering algorithms for beginners, i.e., algorithms that don’t require you to have a deep understanding of software engineering, and hence are perfect for students and beginners.

Check out our useful program on Full Stack Development Bootcamp from upGrad.

Our Learners also read : Career in technology !

Further, if you’re looking for software engineering project ideas for the final year, this list should get you going. So, without further ado, let’s jump straight into some software testing micro project topics that will strengthen your base and allow you to climb the ladder.

1. Android task monitoring

This innovative ideas for project is exclusively designed to simplify the tracking and monitoring of day-to-day activities of busy modern life. We are so busy in our daily lives right now that it becomes impossible to keep track of our daily events, meetings, and appointments. To address this issue, this project focuses on developing a Weekly Task Alerting System for Android devices that can alert users of the tasks/appointments that are scheduled for each day of the week. 

The innovative project ideas for students is primarily a reminder app powered by an AI chatbot that reminds users of all the tasks that are due daily. Users can use this application to set goals and achieve them, thereby increasing productivity and simplifying their lives. 

Importance of android task monitoring system- 

• Alert the users of the due tasks.
• Less time-consuming, and the users can easily navigate through.
• Brings higher productivity to the user’s life.
• They are user-friendly and therefore have higher adaptability.
• Integration of extra features
• Better technology performance

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2. Sentiment analysis for product rating

This is one of the most innovative project ideas beginners can try out.

This project aims to develop a sentiment analysis system for product rating. It is an e-commerce web application. The main goal of this sentiment analysis system is to understand the hidden sentiments of customers in feedback and comments and analyze their product rating patterns. 

When registered customers use this app to view products, product features, and comment on different products, the sentiment analysis system will analyze the comments of various users and ranks products accordingly. The system leverages a database of sentiment-based keywords (including positivity or negativity weight).

So, when a user comments on a particular product, the sentiment analysis system analyzes the keywords in the comment to find a match with the keywords stored in the database. After analyzing the matches against the positive and negative keywords and sentiments, the system ranks a product as good, bad, and very bad. Thus, users can use this application to find out reviews on a product.

Importance of  Sentiment analysis for product rating

• Organisations can use this as a marketing tool.
• Customer loyalty 
• Customer satisfaction 
• Brand Recognition
• The product can acquire the acceptance of the customers.
• It helps the brands to identify the products that have higher acceptance and materialise the resources for the same.
• Lift the business’s local ranking on the search engine.
• Boost click-through rates

Our learners also read : Java free online courses !

3. Fingerprint-based ATM system

This innovative project ideas for students is a desktop application that uses the fingerprint of users for authentication. Since each individual has a unique fingerprint, this method of using fingerprint as a means of authentication to access your ATM is safer and more secure than using an ATM card. Users need not carry their ATM cards with them at all times – they can use their fingerprints to access ATM services. 

To use the fingerprint-based ATM system, users must log in to their accounts using their fingerprints. After logging in, once they provide their unique pin, they can conduct all kinds of banking transactions, from withdrawing cash to money transfers, and even viewing their account balance. Furthermore, users can also check the last five transactions from their accounts.

Importance of having a Fingerprint-based ATM system

• Safer and secure transactions
• Fingerprints are unique to individuals. L losing the ATM card does not pose a big issue.
• No requirement to carry an ATM card all the time.
• Non-transferable feature.
• Helps in making transactions easier at any place.

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4. Advanced employee management system

Usually, large companies and organizations have a vast army of human resources working under them. In such scenarios where there’s a significant number of human employees to manage, it becomes challenging to supervise and manage the activities of the human resources efficiently. Such companies/organizations need an advanced employee management system that can handle everything related to the company’s human resources.

This software project aims to build an employee management system that consolidates all the relevant information on a company’s human resources. It has two major components – Admin and Employee. The Admin is in charge of the company information, leave management, and payroll, and can also add and tweak employee details. Likewise, employees can use the system to check their leave status, view salary details, and yearly holiday lists, and also for voicing grievances or resigning. This can be one of the final year project ideas for IT students. 

Importance of having an Advanced employee management system

• It helps in creating an open environment.
• Aligns the workforce to achieve the company goals.
• Brings transparency in the system.
• Helps in achieving work-life balance.
• Encourages productivity in the team.
• Helps in better tracking of employee performance.
• Remote access
• Time-saving
• Secure as the personal information cannot be accessed by anyone.

Learn more: Evolution of Language Modelling in Modern Life

5. Image encryption using AES algorithm

When it comes to communication and imaging systems, you need to incorporate the highest level of security in place. Without a reliable and secure system, there’s a massive threat to sensitive data. Cybercriminals and hackers are always on the lookout for hacking into confidential data, which puts it at risk of being violated. 

This software project seeks to create a sophisticated image encryption system by using the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithm to prevent intrusion attacks of imaging systems and misuse of digital images. Since the system encrypts the images using the AES algorithm, they can only be viewed by the receiver and the sender. This encryption system is more secure than DES or triple DES systems.

Importance of having Image encryption using the AES algorithm

• They are secure.
• The images are encrypted; only the user having access can view them.
• Encryption and decryption are more secure.
• Prevent unauthorized access.

Explore our Popular Software Engineering Courses

Read: Full Stack Development Project Ideas

6. Fingerprint voting system

In this software testing micro project topics, you will develop a fingerprint-based voting application that can recognize users based on their fingerprint patterns. Since fingerprint authentication is unique for each person, the system can quickly identify the voters using their fingerprints. Naturally, a voter can vote for a candidate only once.

The Admin adds all the names and photos of the candidates nominated for the election. The Admin then authenticates users by verifying their identity proof, and after verification, the voter is registered in the system. Furthermore, the Admin even enters the data when the election will end, after which the system will automatically delete the names and photos of the candidates and voters.

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The users can log in to the system via the unique user ID and password given by the Admin and then use their fingerprints to vote for their preferred candidate. Once the election is over, and the votes are counted, Both the Admin and users can view the election result using the election ID.

Importance of having a Fingerprint voting system

• Transparent
• Fingerprints are unique to individuals, thus ruling out multiple punch-ins.
• Promises fair election process.
• Scalable; adding new voters is easier using a biometric approach.
• Secure, the voters need not worry about identity theft.

Read: React js online course for free.

7. Weather forecasting system

If you are new to software development and looking for minor project topics , this project might suit you. 

Weather forecasting systems use a combination of science and technology to make accurate predictions on weather conditions of a particular location at a particular time. Weather forecast systems and applications predict weather conditions based on multiple parameters, such as pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, etc.

This weather forecasting project is a web application. It has a graphical user interface where users can log in via their user ID and password. This weather forecast application is different from the conventional weather forecast systems where you only enter the location.

However, in this application, the users will manually enter the current parameters of a location, and the system will predict the weather conditions of the place by using historical data stored in the database. The Admin continually updates the database by entering the data of past weather conditions. Since the system mainly relies on historical data, the predictions will be much more accurate and reliable.

Importance of having  a Weather forecasting system

• Accurate data
• Prevents mishaps by predicting the weather accurately.
• Supports the economy as it helps users plan their business activities. 
• Healthy safety
• User-friendly
• Compatible with various operating systems such as Android, iOs, etc.
• Cost-effective
• Supports infrastructure safety
• It helps in planning out disaster management.

8. Android local train ticketing system

In this project, you will develop a ticketing application for local trains. Users can use the app to book tickets for local trains and receive online booking receipts. They can print these online booking receipts as hard copy proof for traveling via local trains. 

The application consists of two accounts – Admin account and a User account. Using the Admin account, the Admin can recharge the user account balance and view all the processed tickets of a user. When users log in to the application, they have to fill out a ticket booking form to book tickets for the local trains traveling to their preferred destination.

In the booking form, users can t choose both the source and destination. The system will also provide the option for a single-route journey or return journey along with the travel class (first class or second class). 

Importance of  Android local train ticketing system

• Time efficient
• Transparency
• Easy to use
• Inclusivity as people from diverse geographical locations can access.

Also try: Web Development Project Ideas

9. Railway tracking and arrival time prediction system

A railway tracking and arrival time prediction system is among the various new ideas for project , you can try out . 

This project is a railway tracking system that allows users to obtain relevant information about train timing, whether it is on time or running late, what is the arrival time in a particular station, and so on. The system can track the time of departure of a train from a station and forward this information to the upcoming stations.

If the system identifies a delay in the departure of a train from a particular station, it will pass the information on to the next stations. This project delivers real-time train schedule events to multiple subscribing client applications.

This tracking system consists of an Admin module. The Admin enters all the relevant details about trains and their arrival timing at different stations, which is then forwarded to the next station via an Internet server. Usually, the Admins add information such as train departed from a station, expected arrival at the next destination, delay in the train schedule, etc.

Once the upcoming station receives this data, it will automatically select the data associated with that station and display the same on the screen for the users to see. So, if the Admin at Mumbai station enters information specific to Delhi station, only the Delhi station system will display that information. The station masters at every station have unique login IDs using which they can update the train arrival time at their station. 

Importance of having Railway tracking and arrival time prediction system

• Real-time display of updates.
• Help in better time management of the passengers.
• Accurate 

10. Android Patient Tracker

This innovative project ideas for college students involves the development of an Android application for viewing and managing patient data. The app is designed to help doctors to see the medical history of their patients. Doctors can also continually upgrade the system by entering the latest medical data of their patients. 

This app can be installed on any Android device. Doctors can log in to the app from their Android smartphones and enter relevant information about their patients, including patient name, disease history, medication administered, date of arrival, and consultation and treatment costs, among other things. Once the information is saved in the system, it will be stored for the perusal of doctors in their future cases. So, if a patient comes for a follow-up routine, doctors can immediately check up on their medical history and provide the necessary medical treatments. This is one of the popular projects for final-year project ideas for IT students. 

Importance of having an Android Patient Tracker

• Database management
• Easily accessible
• Secured login
• High resolution
• Quick Search
• Easy-to-use UI
• Less paperwork involved
• Storage of historical data

Also read: Python Project Ideas for Beginners

11. Opinion mining for social networking platforms

This web application uses opinion mining methodology for improved decision making and enhancing customer experience. The application collects and analyzes the comments and feedback on different users on social networking platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) and categorizes them as positive and negative reviews.

Similar to the sentiment analysis system, this application, too, has a database containing sentiment-based keywords with positivity or negativity weight. So, it analyzes the keywords mined from the user comments against the keywords stored in the database. Accordingly, the comments are ranked as good, bad, and worst reviews (based on their positive or negative weight).

The Admin updates the database with new and relevant keywords. Users can log in to the application to view their status. They can also view the topics and comments posted by other users. By clicking on a particular topic or comment, users can provide their take on the matter.

Also, read about the Top 4 types of sentiment analysis & where to use them.

12. Automated payroll system with GPS tracking and image capture

This is one of the most interesting software engineering projects students can work on. 

This automated payroll system doubles up as a web and Android application – while the user will use the Android interface, the Admin (usually the HR) will use the web interface. 

The application works something like this – each employee is given an employee ID and password for accessing the app from their Android device. When an employee logs into the system from an Android device and immediately, the user image is captured. Then, the system sends the user image and their GPS location to the Admin.

As long as the user stays logged into the system via an Android device, the GPS location will continue to be automatically updated and forwarded to the Admin every five minutes. When the user logs out, their image and GPS location are again sent to the Admin. 

This application allows Admins to keep track of employee attendance and payroll. The Admin creates employee profiles for each employee by entering all the relevant personal information (name, job position, qualification, etc.). They can also check the salary details and breakdown of the salary of each employee by entering the employee ID and date.

Since the application is GPS-enabled, no employee can add proxy attendance. This enables the HRs to keep an accurate record of the working days of individual employees and tweak their payroll accordingly. 

Importance of having an Automated payroll system with GPS tracking and image capture

• Accurate maintenance of records
• Removes negative externalities
• Brings transparency
• Less human intervention and more data-centric approach
• Quick payroll calculations
• Proper tax management
• Can track working hours

Read our Popular Articles related to Software Development

13. data leakage detection system.

The primary task of data leakage detection systems is to detect data leakage and discover the sources for the same. If ever an organization’s sensitive data gets leaked, it may then finds its way to unauthorized devices. This is why it is crucial to trace the source of data leakage so that you can nip the problem in the bud. An advanced data leakage detection system can prevent data from leaking out of its original source. 

This project exclusively focuses on designing an improved data leakage detection system. The proposition here is to identify data leakages by storing data as per agents. It can promptly trace any possible sources of unauthorized leakage by leveraging a data allocation strategy across various agents.

As a part of the strategy, a user can transfer data to other users via “receivers” – these are agents to whom the data is allocated by using ID-based undetectable alterations. The data leakage detection system uses these alterations to identify the source of leaked data immediately when it is found in any unauthorized places or systems.

Importance of having a Data leakage detection system

• Prevents unauthorised access
• Helps the organisation to take adequate preventive measures
• Helps in undertaking preventive measures
• Helps in maintaining brand image

14. Credit card fraud detection

Credit card fraud is a significant threat in the BFSI sector. This credit card fraud detection system studies and analyzes user behavior patterns and uses location scanning techniques to identify any unusual patterns. One of The user patterns includes important user behavior like spending habits, usage patterns, etc. The system uses geographic location for identity verification. In case it detects any unusual pattern, the user will be required to undergo the verification process again. 

The fraud detection system stores the past transaction data of each user. Based on this data, it calculates the standard user behavior patterns for individual users, and any deviation from those normal patterns becomes a trigger for the system. In the instance of any unusual activity, the system will not only raise alerts, but it will also block the user after three invalid attempts.

Importance of having Credit card fraud detection

• Prevents fraudsters from making multiple transactions
• Creates alerts
• Authentication of customers
• Brings more databases, and helps more users to adopt the technology.
• Increases user confidence

15. AI shopping system

As the name suggests, the AI multi-agent shopping system is a shopping assistant, more like a recommendation engine. First, the system is fed with the details of a wide range of products. When a user registers in the system and searches for a specific product, the system returns the result of the most relevant items that match the search keywords entered by the user.

Since the system is designed to study the search patterns of the user and based on the previous search and purchase history, it will also provide a curated suggestion of a list of items that are a close match to the searched item. 

The AI shopping system allows users to register and log in using an ID and password. After logging in, users can search for products online, perform a custom search across various product categories, add items to their cart, and choose the preferred payment option. 

Importance of having an AI shopping system

• Customsied search option
• Data-centric approach
• Increases customer satisfaction
• Enhanced UI 
• User friendly
• Customised product recommendations
• Easy navigation

Read more: Artificial Intelligence Applications

16. Camera motion sensor system

This camera motion sensor system can detect motion (even the slightest ones) and trigger an alarm. It uses a motion detector algorithm for detecting movements. The camera continually monitors the surrounding environment, records images of any movements in real time, and sets triggers for unusual activities in the vicinity.

To activate the system, the user must set a security code. Once it gets activated, it immediately starts monitoring the surroundings. If the alarm sets off on detecting any movement, the user must deactivate the alarm by re-entering the security code.

17. Bug tracker

This is a bug-tracking application that helps identify and track bugs in projects or systems. The project has three modules – Admin, Staff, and User.

The Admin can log in to the app and enter the details of the project and staff members, view the complaints of users, assign tasks to the members, track the bug resolution status, and send messages to users. The staff can log in to the app to view bug complaints assigned to them and start working on them. If a member is unable to resolve a bug issue, they can forward the problem to another member. As for the users, they can view the progress status of their bug complaints.

Users can also use the ticket number generated during the submission of their complaint and view the solution plan details for the same. In this way, the bug-tracking application keeps the process of monitoring and resolving software bugs transparent and seamless. 

Importance of having a Bug tracker

• Allows tracking bugs at one centralised system.
• Tracking of what the bug is, who is fixing it, and who reported it.
• The users can also understand whether their concerns have been taken care of by the team.
• Allows organisations to take preventative measures.
• Better focus on development 
• Increases the productivity

18. e-Learning platform

In this innovative project ideas for college students, you will build a shareable e-learning platform using cloud computing infrastructure for online learning. This e-learning platform powered by cloud computing would allow the independent Learning Management Systems (LMS) embedded in various e-Learning standards to share their learning objects, modules, and content. Basically, cloud computing will encourage the sharing of a wide range of learning objects, allowing learners to access them online easily.

The project has a three-layer architecture to facilitate sharing learning modules, reusing them, and interoperability among different learning content efficiently. The middle layer of the infrastructure contains an indexing module and a metadata transformation module to encourage the exchange of metadata among acknowledged e-Learning standards. This allows learners to use available learning objects without requiring them to get affiliated with any other LMS.

Importance of having an e-Learning platform

• Attracts users or potential learners.
• Integrates innovation
• Increases userbase
• Data-centric
• Promotes learning
• Allows the ed-tech to reach vast geographical locations
• Integration of study materials
• Better user experience
• Promotes a positive brand image

19. Smart health prediction system

If you are looking for software engineering projects that can significantly impact our daily lives, this might be one of the best minor project ideas for you. 

An intelligent health prediction system can transform the way people take charge of their health while also connecting them to the nearest healthcare providers immediately. Many times patients are unable to access healthcare services due to some reason or the other. The smart health prediction system seeks to solve this problem by enabling patients to get instant healthcare advice and guidance online from licensed medical practitioners. 

The smart health prediction application is an online consultation system for users. The system is fed with huge volumes of healthcare data (symptoms and the diseases or health issues associated with those symptoms). So, when a user enters their medical problems and symptoms, the application uses data mining to delve into the database and find the most accurate match of disease/illness related to those symptoms.

Furthermore, the app also provides the contact information of various medical specialists and practitioners with whom the patients can easily connect via the platform. 

Importance of having a smart health prediction system

• Allows users to access their data
• Helps in taking effective preventive measures
• Allows the users to receive instant guidance
• Associate various symptoms with illness
• Accurate results
• Helps in better forecasting

Learn about: Software Developer Salary in India

20. Software piracy protection system

The goal of developing this project is to prevent software piracy and improve protection and security measures for software. Piracy is one of the biggest threats in the industry. Hackers use malware and malicious code to gain access to software products/systems, thus, putting at stake the entire security infrastructure of a company. As a result, it is pivotal to incorporate the necessary measures and protection systems to uphold the integrity of data as well as the copyright rights of software products. 

The software piracy protection system helps keep piracy threats at bay. Users must first register for using a software product and then purchase the software via online payment. Once the payment is complete, users can download the software and the serial key for the same. The software reads the ID of your machine (PC/laptop) and generates a unique user ID by using an algorithm. The user can now log in via the user ID by providing the serial key.

The key is encrypted and is different for each machine, which makes it highly secure. After the serial key is entered, the software, too, will generate a key via encryption and match it with the serial key of the user for authentication. If the keys match, the user can access the software product, and if it doesn’t match, the software remains locked. 

Importance of having a Software piracy protection system

• Helps safeguard the system
• Prevention data systems from getting pirated
• Promotes copyright ownership
• Allows the users to take preventive measures

21. Face Detector

The goal is to develop a face detection system. The machine can analyze the face structure by matching it with the already existing data in the system. 

The device uses algorithms to detect if the face matches the data that pre-exists in the system. In case of any error, the machine reports it to the user.

Importance of having a face detector-

• It helps secure the devices
• Helps in surveillance efforts
• Better tracking down of criminals
• Promotes automated identification

22. Voice Recognition

The machine recognises the voice. The machine analyses the tone and pattern of the voice while the users are speaking, and based on that; it recognises the voice.

The device performs a Neural Machine Translation to perform machine translation. Speech recognition and classification are also involved in the process. 

Importance of voice recognition-

• Increases productivity
• Real-time text-to-speech recognition
• Brings inclusivity, as it helps the impaired persons to utilise the technology like anyone else.
• Captures speech much faster than the text.

23. Chatbots

Chatbots are integrated into almost every business today. They are engineered to mimic the human way of talking. The AI develops a human-like conversation with its users. 

The business uses chatbots as a feature to increase their sales, customer service, and more. They are also responsible for increased customer satisfaction.

Importance of chatbots-

• Increased customer satisfaction
• Improve lead generation 
• Scalability of the business
• Increases automation of the business
• Time effective
• Increases customer engagement

24. Organization Administrative Software

Corporate offices and companies also require a robust administration system that enables easy storage and manipulation of large amounts of data. Administrative management software helps you easily manage and automate the different aspects of administrative processes, such as invoicing, scheduling, reporting, document management, communication, and so on. 

Such management software can also integrate with different platforms and systems like CRM, accounting, or ERP to enable smoother data exchange and streamline workflows. Administrative software can help an organization automate tasks, enhance efficiency, improve productivity, and eliminate the scope of errors.  

Importance of organization administrative software-

• Improved data management. 
• Seamless integration across platforms for better data exchange. 
• Automation of administrative processes.
• Better productivity and reduced error.

25. Appointment Management Software

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, it is great to have someone keep track of our upcoming appointments for us. If you are looking for innovative ideas for project , you can now build a dedicated software integrated with your personal management tools and tracker applications that will keep track of your important upcoming appointments and events and send you reminders accordingly. 

Importance of appointment management software-

• Efficient time management through personalized reminders.
• Better organization and avoids conflicting or overlapping schedules.

26. Stock Market Tracker 

Before the advent of applications, investors had to connect to the stock exchange and then to a stockbroker, who would charge money to purchase stocks for the investors. However, the scenario has now changed, with the entire process being completed on a mobile phone. 

A stock market tracker application can ease the task of calling brokers for every small market update. Developers and enterprises can use the API from stock exchanges and create a custom market tracker that will help investors follow the companies whose stocks they have purchased. 

The software can also include visual representations to determine the changes in the market. 

Importance of stock market tracker software-

• Enhanced accessibility and improved convenience.
• Facilitates real-time market monitoring.
• Cost-effective.

27. E-Parking Challan Generation System

Vehicle owners often leave their vehicles parked in prohibited areas. This kind of software will equip the traffic police and other concerned authorities with the power to identify vehicles that have been parked in unauthorized places.

Using such software, the police can click the photograph of the vehicle parked in an unauthorized area and scan its license plate with the help of an embedded OCR scanner. The images can then be uploaded to the central database, and an auto-generated SMS penalizing the owner will be sent to him.

The challan can either be paid online or added to the vehicle’s annual license fee.

Importance of e-parking challan generation system:

• Better accountability.
• Prompt response and notification.
• Integration of digital payment.

28. Password Manager

This is another simple yet one of the most innovative ideas for a project that beginners can work on. In this project, developers can create a simple interface where users can save all the credentials for logging in to different applications and websites.

There can also be a provision of a feature that suggests stronger passwords and occasionally reminds users to update their passwords.

Importance of password manager-

• Enhanced security.
• Better management of passwords.

What Are Programming Side Projects?

Programming side projects are personal or hobby projects that software developers undertake outside of their professional work. These projects allow developers to explore new technologies, refine skills, and build innovative applications. They are particularly valuable for showcasing a developer’s initiative and creativity to potential employers or clients. Sites like Overcode can be excellent resources, offering tools and guidance to help developers expand their portfolios with meaningful projects.

Why is Project-based Learning Effective?

While you now have various engineering project design ideas to work on, do you know why employers emphasize project-based learning to IT candidates? 

Besides your skillset, your CV sets you apart from other candidates applying for a similar position. IT projects and project design ideas reflect your abilities and strengths. Real-time engineering project ideas for college students emphasize your practical skills and enable employers to learn your capabilities. 

Here are a few reasons why working on mini-project topics, and topics for mini-project software development IT projects is a sure-shot way of attaining success in the future:

• Building Problem-Solving Skills: No matter how fluent you are at programming, practical application will always bring forth new challenges related to stable applications or glitches. Only programmers with ample hands-on experience can face these challenges and create viable solutions. Working on different software development projects mini project topics or topics for mini-project beginners will help you be industry-ready and gain a competitive edge.
• Research Skills: Working on real-time projects requires candidates to perform extensive research on the topic. Hence, it’s crucial to strengthen your research and research-based skills by seeking the most relevant information needed for the project at hand. Evolved research skills can help you deliver accurate results, making you a desirable candidate for recruiters. 
• Project Management Skills: Besides skillset and work experience, employers judge candidates by their professional efficiency. How well and productively a candidate can work decides whether they deserve to be hired. You can acquire project management skills through active participation in project-based learning. A great approach is to work on diverse project ideas for college students under limited time to enhance your speed and efficiency. 
• Hands-on Experience: To make an impact as a software developer, individuals must move beyond textbooks and put their learning to practical use.

Projects can help individuals gain hands-on experience, which, in turn, can enhance their analytical and problem-solving abilities. Therefore, students who are willing to grow their skills in the domain of software development should definitely try their hands at building software.

• Time Management: Different tasks in a software development project are assigned specific time slots. Therefore, software development also makes you skilled in time management because you need to monitor if all the steps are completed within the allotted time.

These mini project ideas for IT students will help create a robust resume and portfolio. A portfolio that displays a record of successful completion of a software development project is more likely to get an edge over a resume that displays mere formal CS education. Therefore, future-proof your career as a software professional by starting early.

Technical Skills Acquired Through Software Development Projects

Working on IT projects for students and developing a software can equip amateur developers with the following technical abilities:

• Knowledge of programming languages: Programming languages form the foundation and are used by developers to send commands to the computer. Therefore, to succeed as a software developer, you must have foundational knowledge about programming languages.

Employers are likelier to hire developers who can code in multiple languages, as it accounts for their versatility. Therefore, start with learning Python and slowly move to more complex ones like Ruby and C++.

• Operating systems: Developers should also understand the relationship between applications, operating systems, and hardware. This way, they can easily design software that can function across platforms.
• Software Development Life Cycle: The Software Development Life Cycle has multiple phases that include gathering data, analyzing them, designing the products, and then finally putting them to implementation. Once implemented, the products have to be tested, deployed, and maintained from time to time.

Proper knowledge of the SDLC allows developers to anticipate a time frame and determine the number of projects they will be working on at a time.

• Database management: Developers also require a foundational knowledge of SQL programming language as it is the first step towards working effectively with the different database platforms. Software engineering projects for students also teach them the essential skills required for efficient database management.
• Debugging: Debugging refers to identifying glitches and errors in your product’s code and removing them. This helps reduce the time spent on testing.

Why are Software Development Projects Important?

Software development minor project topics are important for various reasons, as they play a crucial role in modern society and business. Here are some key reasons why software development projects hold significant importance in this digital landscape: –

Innovation and Advancement

Software development project topics drive innovation by creating new technologies, tools, and solutions that improve efficiency, convenience, and quality of life. New software applications can revolutionize industries and lead to entirely new markets.

Business Growth and Competitiveness

In today’s digital landscape, businesses often rely on software to operate efficiently, connect with customers, and compete effectively. Custom software solutions can provide a competitive edge by addressing unique business needs and streamlining operations.

Efficiency and Automation

The software helps automate and streamline processes, reducing the need for manual tasks and minimizing errors. This increases efficiency, lower operational costs, and improves resource utilization.

Data Management and Analysis

Software innovative ideas for projects enable businesses to collect, store, manage, and analyze vast data. This data-driven decision-making is essential for understanding customer behavior, market trends, and business performance.

Improved Customer Experience

Software applications, whether web-based, mobile, or desktop, often serve as direct touchpoints with customers. Well-designed and user-friendly software can enhance customer experiences, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Global Connectivity

The software connects people, businesses, and devices across the globe. It enables communication, collaboration, and information sharing regardless of geographical barriers.

Research and Scientific Advancement

Many scientific and academic fields rely on software development for data analysis, simulations, modeling, and experimentation. Advances in software contribute to breakthroughs in various disciplines.

Healthcare and Medicine

Software development is critical in medical technology, from electronic health records (EHR) systems to diagnostic tools and telemedicine platforms. It helps improve patient care, medical research, and treatment outcomes.

Entertainment and Media

The entertainment industry relies heavily on software for video games, multimedia content creation, streaming platforms, and virtual reality experiences, enhancing the way people consume and engage with media.

Social Impact

Software real time projects can have significant social impacts, addressing societal and educational challenges, disaster management, poverty alleviation, environmental monitoring, and more.

Customization and Flexibility

Custom software solutions can be tailored to meet specific business requirements, providing greater flexibility and adaptability than off-the-shelf software.

Security and Privacy

Software development innovative project ideas contribute to developing cybersecurity tools and practices, helping protect sensitive data and systems from cyber threats.

Economic Growth

The software industry generates substantial economic value, creating job opportunities, fostering entrepreneurship, and contributing to economic growth and GDP.

In essence, software development projects topics for the students drive technological progress, enable efficiency gains, and shape the way we interact with the world around us. They empower businesses, organizations, and individuals to achieve their goals, solve complex problems, and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Looking to challenge yourself or expand your portfolio? Check out our curated list of computer science project ideas to inspire your next groundbreaking project.

How to Develop a Software Project Topics?

Developing a software innovative ideas for projects involves several key steps to ensure its successful creation and deployment. So, let’s learn how to develop a software project: –

• Through thorough analysis and planning, begin by defining clear project goals, scope, and requirements. 
• Next step is to design the software architecture and user interfaces, considering scalability and user experience. 
• Choose the best technologies, frameworks, and development methodologies based on the project’s needs.
• Implement the software by writing code, regularly testing, and addressing bugs and issues. 
• Collaborate closely with a multidisciplinary team, including developers, designers, and testers, to ensure comprehensive coverage. 
• Regularly review and iterate on the software, incorporating user feedback and making necessary adjustments. Prioritize security measures and data protection throughout the development process. 
• Finally, deploy the software to the target environment and continuously monitor its performance, promptly addressing post-launch concerns. 
• Effective communication, teamwork, and adherence to best practices are crucial for delivering a successful software testing micro project topics on time and within budget.

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Domains of Software Development that Programmers Can Explore

Listed below are a few domains of software development that programmers should consider:

• Front-end development: The front-end development domain is focused on imparting a seamless experience to the users. This is mainly associated with the area related to the website’s design and appearance. 
• Back-end development: The back-end development domain deals with logic and effective software programming that goes into the smooth execution of the programs.
• Full-stack development: This domain combines both the front and back-end segments of software development and provides integrated knowledge. 
• Web and mobile application development: Programmers can also gain relevant skills in website and mobile application development to contribute to the development of web, Android, and iOS applications. 
• AI software development: AI is finding its way into various sectors in the modern-day tech-driven world, including software development. AI and ML technologies can be used to make tools like chatbots, virtual personal assistants, and more. 
• Cloud computing technologies: Technologies like Azure, Google Cloud, AWS, etc., are being used by firms and companies to cater to the industries’ requirements for storing and protecting data. This has become an important aspect of software development.

Considering software’s tremendous impact on today’s society, software developers play an important role in helping businesses achieve their goals by aligning with user’s priorities. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment rate of software developers is likely to grow by 25% between 2022 and 2032.

The secret to becoming a successful Software Developer is to work on side projects. The more you experiment, the better will be your real-world programming skills.

We hope these software development innovative ideas for project have inspired you to work on software projects to hone your skills!

If you’re interested to learn more about full-stack software development, check out upGrad & IIIT-B’s Executive PG Programme in Software Development – Specialization in Full Stack Development  which is designed for working professionals and offers 500+ hours of rigorous training, 9+ projects and assignments, IIIT-B Alumni status, practical hands-on capstone projects & job assistance with top firms.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

This might appear obvious, but it is extremely important to choose the right topic. After all, you will be sinking a lot of hours into this project, and researching that topic exhaustively to be able to answer all the interviewers’ questions. Choose a project guide who has a certain degree of experience in the field. It’s a bonus if they have already published research papers before. Create a timeline before you begin working, and follow it to the letter. Implement and test your concept, and make sure it is watertight. Finally, do not compromise on the presentation and explanation. Explain things in a coherent, concise, and intuitive manner.

Creating something truly unique that actually contributes to the development of a field, is always a good idea, and seldom goes unrecognized. You can also make your project stand out by going above and beyond with the presentation, and by incorporating creative multimedia such as explanatory videos, graphics, or interactive mini-games to illustrate a concept. Supplement your research with expert interviews, hardware implementations, or computer models. Finally, do not shy away from expanding your scope of study slightly to other fields, if they are relevant to your project topic.

The final year project gives students a chance to actually apply the theoretical knowledge they have gained through the course of their degree, to solve real-world problems. This practical experience is essential for them to join the workforce. The conception and execution of a project give recruiters an idea about your work ethic. They also develop an idea about your commitment to a task, creativity, and attention to detail, based on your answers when they ask you about the deeper technical aspects of your project. In a nutshell, your final year project is considered a comprehensive summary of your undergraduate study.

After acquiring all the theoretical knowledge, the first step to becoming a successful software developer is laying hands on a software development project, which will help you gain hands-on experience and put your knowledge and skills to use. Pick from one amongst the many innovation ideas for software companies, and start working on it.

Developing a software project involves a number of steps. One has to determine the feasibility of all major project ideas, design them, incorporate frameworks and methodologies, write codes, coordinate with the teams, look for issues, address the changes, and finally deploy it and seek feedback.

Software development minor topics are not only relevant in the modern industry, but they also equip budding developers with all the skills they will require to develop larger projects.

Software engineering projects with documentation involve creating a detailed set of documents that describe the software’s design, development process, and maintenance procedures. This documentation can include requirements specifications, design documents, user manuals, and technical guides. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive reference that assists developers in understanding the software, facilitates communication among team members, and ensures efficient maintenance and updates throughout the lifecycle of the software.

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Software Project Ideas

Get a list of the latest software engineering project topics. This is a compiled list of innovative software project ideas waiting to be implemented. Browse through these new topics for software projects prepared and constantly updated by our team to provide new ideas to software engineering students & engineer for learning & improving your programming.

#TrendingSoftwareProjects

All Software Projects Ideas and Topics

• AI Healthcare Bot System using Python
• ShareBook App Android Book Sharing Application
• Travel Together – A Travel Buddy Finder System
• Travel and Tourism Website using Python
• Android Grocery Management App
• Android Local Geofence System
• Digital Scrabble Word Dictionary Game Python
• Automatic Pronunciation Mistake Detector
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Prediction System
• College Placement System Using Python
• Medical Report Management & Distribution System on Blockchain
• Biometric Student Attendance System App
• Music and Shows Finder Flutter App
• Timer Based Phone Silencer App
• Face Recognition Attendance System for Employees using Python
• Liver Cirrhosis Prediction System using Random Forest
• Android Carpool Ride Sharing App
• Staff Scheduling Android App
• Android Smart Bus Pass App
• Wheelchair Guidance & Assistance App
• Multiple Disease Prediction System using Machine Learning
• Online Auction System using Python
• Online Voting System Project Python
• Secure Persona Prediction and Data Leakage Prevention System using Python
• Stroke Prediction System using Linear Regression
• Toxic Comment Classification System using Deep Learning
• Flutter Based Digital Classroom App for Android & iOS
• Extracurricular Event Tracking System App
• Flutter Based Blood Donation App
• Organic Food Traceability System using Blockchain
• Pharma Supply Chain System using Smart Contracts
• School Security System using RFID
• Contact Recognition App Using Fingerprint Sensor
• Android Based Image Steganography
• Android Voting System Using Face Recognition
• Android TTS OCR Converter System for People with Visual Disability
• Shared Office Finder System Using Flutter
• Memory Card Game Flutter App
• Flutter Based Bill Reminder App
• Three-Level Password System Using Python
• Skin Disease Detection System Using CNN
• Signature Verification System Using CNN
• Online Election System Using Python
• Library Management System Using Python
• Heart Failure Prediction System
• Python Doctor Appointment Booking System
• Yoga Poses Detection using OpenPose
• Credit Card Fraud Detection System Python
• Evidence Protection System Using Blockchain Technology
• Blockchain Shipment Management Tracking System
• Learning Disability Detector and Classifier System
• Online Stock Photo Ecommerce Website
• AI Mental Health Therapist Chatbot
• Ecommerce Fake Product Reviews Monitor and Deletion System
• File Transfer System using Elliptic Curve Cryptography
• Smart Campus Surveillance and Guidance System
• Criminal Investigation Tracker with Suspect Prediction
• Distributed Dealership Network Analyzer and Sales Monitor
• E Healthcare – Online Consultation And Medical Subscription
• Automated College Timetable Generator
• Intelligent Mobile Travel Guide Flutter App
• Indoor Navigation System App using Flutter
• Smart Time Table Generation Flutter App Using Genetic Algorithm
• Identifying Fake Products Through A Barcode-Based Blockchain System
• Recipe Recommendation from the Ingredients Flutter App
• Flutter Virtual Watch Party App
• Ambulance Booking System using Python
• Chatbot Assistant System using Python
• Child Vaccination Management System using Python
• Dental Caries Detection System using Python
• Movie Success Prediction System using Python
• Online Complaint Registration & Management System using Python
• Organ Donation System using Python
• Speech Emotion Detection System using Python
• Student Feedback Review System using Python
• Use of Pose Estimation in Elderly People using Python
• Real Estate Booking System using Smart Contracts
• Trusted Crowdfunding Platform Using a Smart Contract
• Android Job Portal System App
• AI Chatbot App using Dialog Flow in Flutter
• Body Pose Detection App using Google ML-Kit Flutter
• Flutter Based Calories Tracker App
• Flutter Based House Bidding Application
• Flutter Medicine Tracker and Notification App
• Flutter Payment Reminder App
• Restaurant Employees Tip Calculator System App Flutter
• Time series Anomaly Detector App using Azure Cognitive Services
• YouTube Giveaway Manager App Using Flutter
• Vehicle Number Plate Detection and Recognition Python
• Green Screen Background Remover using OpenCV Python
• Intelligent Video Surveillance Using Deep Learning System
• Leaf Detection System using OpenCV Python
• Music Genres Classification using KNN System
• Traffic Sign Recognition System using CNN
• Auto capture Selfie by Detecting Smile Python
• Blockchain based Loan Management System with Smart Contracts
• Blockchain Rental Property System with Smart Contracts
• Personal Goal Tracking App using Flutter
• Stay Safe Security App With Scream Alert
• Android Hostel Management System App
• Android Investment Tracker App
• Anti-Money Laundering System using Blockchain
• Blockchain-based Transaction and Settlement System
• Blockchain based Cloud File Sharing System
• Blockchain based Cross Border Payment System
• Blockchain based Merchant Payment System
• Organization Finance Tracking System using Blockchain
• Blockchain based Personal Identity Security System
• Face Recognition Attendance System using Python
• Human Detector and Counter using Python
• Pneumonia Detection using Chest X-Ray
• Music Recommendation System by Facial Emotion
• Parkinson’s Detector System using Python
• Website Vulnerability Scanning System
• Lost Item Tracker App
• Periodic Bell & Timetable Reminder App
• Flutter based SMS Scheduler App
• Teacher Tracking System Flutter
• Train Food Ordering App
• Vehicle Maintenance and Mileage Tracker App
• Event Registration System with QR Code
• Flutter based Music Player App
• Flutter based Online Auction App
• Flutter Based Online Helpdesk System
• Bone Fracture Detection using Python
• Cryptocurrency price prediction using Machine Learning Python
• Depression Detection System using Python
• Car Lane Detection Using NumPy OpenCV Python
• Sign Language Recognition Using Python
• Signature verification System using Python
• Blockchain Tender/Contract Management System in Python
• Flutter based Interview Preparation App
• Digital Fare Meter App for Drivers Based on Flutter
• Driver Drowsiness Detection System Using Python
• Flutter Based Barter Trading System App
• Money Management App for Expense Planning Flutter
• Predicting House Price Using Decision Tree
• Blockchain based Disk Space Rental System
• Blockchain Based Crowdfunding Platform
• Blockchain Based Antiques Verification System
• Elevator Saga: Fun Game Flutter App
• Detecting Brain Tumors and Alzheimer’s Using Python
• Hangman Game: Vocabulary Building Flutter App
• Secure File Access System Android App
• Electronics Ecommerce Website Python
• Brain Tumor and Alzheimer’s Detection Flutter App
• Android Phone Hardware Tester App
• Text Translation App Using Google API
• AI-Based Picture Translation App
• Android File Finder and Sorting App
• EV Charging Station Finder and Slot Booking Flutter
• Mental Health Check app using NLP Flutter
• Spy Camera Android App
• Python Image Forgery Detection using MD5 OpenCV
• Bank Beacon Android App
• Android Heart Disease Prediction App
• Android Geofencing App for COVID Quarantine
• Online Nursery Plant Shopping Website Python
• Knee Osteoarthritis Detection & Severity Prediction
• Space Shooter Combat Game Python
• Online PDF to Text Converter & Language Translator Python
• Herb & Grocery Shopping Android App
• Dementia Virtual Memory App
• Android Messenger App
• Barbershop Service Booking App
• Fitness App With Workout Diet & Motivation
• Three Level Image Password Authentication
• Students Grievance Redressal Cell Python
• Emergency Ambulance Booking App
• Waste Food Management & Donation App
• Doctor Appointment Booking & Live Chat App
• Veterinary Appointment Scheduling App Flutter
• Online Fuel Delivery Flutter App
• Real Time Global Weather Monitoring App Flutter
• Property Registration Management System using Blockchain
• Patient Data Management System using Blockchain
• Electronic Voting System using Blockchain
• Loyalty Points Exchange System using Blockchain
• NGO Management System using Blockchain
• Online Fashion Stylist Website
• Android Blood Donation & Blood Bank Finder
• Online Driver Hiring Android App
• Retail Store Inventory & POS Checkout App
• Gym Trainer & Progress Tracker App
• Accident Detection & Alert Android App
• Android Personal Safety App
• Android College Connect Chat App
• Tour Recommender App Using Collaborative Filtering
• Android Task Monitoring
• Online Mobile Recharge Portal Project
• Detecting E Banking Phishing Websites Using Associative Classification
• Vehicle Tracking Using Driver Mobile Gps Tracking
• Sentiment Analysis for Product Rating
• Fingerprint Based ATM System
• Image Encryption Using AES Algorithm
• Image Encryption Using Triple DES
• Extended AES with Custom Configurable Encryption
• E Commerce Product Rating Based On Customer Review Mining
• Image Steganography With 3 Way Encryption
• Canteen Automation System
• Engineering College Automation and Scheduling System
• Fingerprint Voting System Project
• Employee Hourly Attendance By Barcode Scan
• Weather Forecasting Using Data Mining
• User Web Access Records Mining For Business Intelligence
• Railway Tracking and Arrival Time Prediction
• Android Local Train Ticketing Project
• Android Patient Tracker
• Opinion Mining For Restaurant Reviews
• Website Evaluation Using Opinion Mining
• Opinion Mining For Comment Sentiment Analysis
• Movie Success Prediction Using Data Mining
• Android Customer Relationship Management System
• Android Employee Tracker
• Monitoring Suspicious Discussions On Online Forums Using Data Mining
• Android – PC Chatting & Image Sharing System
• Fake Product Review Monitoring And Removal For Genuine Online Product Reviews Using Opinion Mining
• Web Data Mining To Detect Online Spread Of Terrorism
• Opinion Mining For Social Networking Site
• Biomedical Data Mining For Web Page Relevance Checking
• Data Mining For Automated Personality Classification
• Real Estate Search Based On Data Mining
• Automated Payroll With GPS Tracking And Image Capture
• Unique User Identification Across Multiple Social Networks
• College Enquiry Chat Bot
• Bikers Portal
• Secure Electronic Fund Transfer Over Internet Using DES
• Sentiment Based Movie Rating System
• Advanced Reliable Real Estate Portal
• Diagnostic Centre Client Coordination System
• Improved Data Leakage Detection
• Online Herbs Shopping Project
• Sending a secure message over a network to a remote site
• Online Diagnostic Lab Reporting System
• Online Loan Application & Verification System
• Multi Website Advertisement Handling System
• Secure Data Transfer Over Internet Using Image Steganography
• Airport Network Flight Scheduler
• Image Encryption For Secure Internet Transfer
• Public Photography Contest With Live Voting
• Intelligent PC Location Tracking System
• Secure Remote Communication Using DES Algorithm
• Remote Java 2 Dotnet Communication Application
• Internet Based Live Courier Tracking And Delivery System
• Active Chat Monitoring and Suspicious Chat Detection over Internet
• Credit Card Fraud Detection
• Remote User Recognition And Access Provision
• AI Multi Agent Shopping System
• Wireless Indoor Positioning System
• Web Content Trust Rating Prediction Using Evidence Theory
• Topic Detection Using Keyword Clustering
• An Adaptive Social Media Recommendation System
• Tab Based Library Book Availability & Location Finder On Wifi
• Web Mining For Suspicious Keyword Prominence
• Web Agent For Learning Content Updating
• PC Configuration Retrieval System on Online Server
• Web Server Log Analysis System
• Customer Behaviour Prediction Using Web Usage Mining
• Web Server to Client communication for web usage data analysis
• Network Based Stock Price System
• Matrimonial Portal Project
• On Demand Remote PC Monitoring system Through Internet
• Online AI Shopping With M-Wallet System
• Military Access Using Card Scanning With OTP
• Secure ATM Using Card Scanning Plus OTP
• Secure Lab Access Using Card Scanner Plus Face Recognition
• Webpage Ranking Search Engine With Seo Suggester
• Detect Irregular moving objects and tracking based on color and shape in real-time
• Camera Motion Sensing Project
• Collective Face Detection Project
• College automation project
• Online Election System Project
• Automated Attendance System
• Mobile Attendance System Project
• WiFi Shopping Guide Project
• Cursor Movement By Hand Gesture Project
• Mobile Quiz Through WiFi Project
• The Cibil System Project

This list is constantly updated every week with new software project ideas. So each time you visit this page you get a whole new variety of software ideas to be implemented. Software engineering project ideas must be constantly updated every year as per evolving technology. We are here to help you at this point, we update this page with innovative software based project ideas to be used by engineering students as their final year projects.

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6 best marketing project management software (2024).

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Marketers need a project management tool that lets them oversee each component of project planning and monitoring. It obviously should have project and task management to plan work and track progress. But, in our experience working with agencies and internal marketing departments, we’ve found these users also need tools to:

• Manage internal staff and team members — including their schedules and hours.
• Source and manage relationships with freelancers.
• Share and store marketing collateral and other digital assets projects require.
• Collaborate with all project team members and clients. Specifically, your PM software should include tools like proofing and version history so designers, managers, and clients can work together on creating final content.
• Simplify client communications and (if you’d like) grant clients visibility so they can see project progress without asking your team for updates.
• Integrate with media planning solutions and other marketing tools to pull that data for projects and reporting.
• Plan project budgets and track costs.

This last element — financial management and budget tracking — is what we find that 99% of project management softwares miss. But if marketers don’t track costs within project workflows, they operate in the dark until they calculate costs and create invoices.

Strategic marketers manage projects, people, clients, content, and costs in one system — that’s how they guarantee profitability from their work.

Now, other project management software miss more than that; some also lack time tracking or resource management .

That’s because the majority of project management software — most names you’ll see when you research this software category (Monday.com, Jira, Asana, Zoho, Trello, Basecamp, and more) — are not specifically designed for marketing teams and lack tools to manage creative projects and marketing campaigns.

So, we put together this guide of project management tools for marketing teams so you can compare the options that check these criteria (and skip the names that aren’t tailored to marketers’ requirements).

Workamajig: All-in-One Marketing Project Management Software for Agencies, Internal Teams & Enterprises

We designed Workamajig as a project management tool specifically for marketers, creatives, and agencies . It is a comprehensive work management tool combining project and agency management: task management, resource management, time tracking, vendor and client management, financial reporting, and more.

Our goal when developing our platform was to solve the problems marketers and creatives face with generic project management software — like not having all the details to build accurate estimates or allocate resources properly, not being able to track schedules or tie work hours to projects, or not having tools to track costs in parallel with projects.

It brings everything under one roof, so you’re not managing different elements of projects in different systems (paying for multiple systems, trying to integrate them, wasting money and time in the process, and more).

Our team will meet with you before starting Workamajig to discuss your current processes and challenges and provide a personalized demo of our platform . We can help you determine if Workamajig can support your teams and project workflows and game plan the next steps.

We provide free onboarding and training so we can configure the platform to your requirements and ensure smooth adoption. (We’ll also show you how to change settings so our platform scales with you.)

Bringing team members, clients, and vendors on board is easy because the navigation and features are intuitive and user-friendly. Most marketing departments can fully launch our product in ~60 days.

We’ll briefly review Workamajig’s project management features that satisfy the above-mentioned criteria. If you’d like to see the full walkthrough after reading, you can request a demo with our team .

Planning & Monitoring Marketing Projects

Project planning.

Our system supports project planning from the first contact through approvals and scheduling.

There are two ways you can receive and manage requests for work.

First, Workamajig includes project request forms. We provide templates you can customize to gather project details from the start. You could post these in portals for other departments or existing clients to request work or post them on your site for new customers to make contact.

Managers can view all new project requests in their dashboard, review the details, approve or deny work, and start building estimates.

In addition, Workamajig includes a native CRM with Kanban boards; potential customers can email you requesting work, and your sales team can manage opportunities through the pipeline.

Managers and sales teams can build out the tasks to complete projects, and they can reference current project schedules, available resources, budgets, and financial data throughout the process — which allows them to provide more accurate timelines and estimates. Workamajig stores all project details and communications.

Then, approved PR forms and details from sales conversations automatically feed into new projects in your dashboard. Our system preserves all the project’s tasks, notes, and attachments so managers can start planning and all team members have the necessary context to complete their work.

In the project management dashboard, managers can finalize task details and specify the start dates, due dates, and time allotments to keep projects on schedule.

Project Monitoring

Your Projects dashboard shows you all active projects and their status. You can customize your dashboard’s Gantt charts by color-coding project phases, allowing you to easily pop in and get a visual of where projects stand.

This dashboard goes beyond tracking completed tasks and incorporates budget monitoring. It’s also unique from other PM tools in that it updates timelines in real-time as users complete tasks; you can see if projects are ahead of schedule or running behind and when exactly they’re expected to wrap. All of this gives you a more concrete view of project health and timelines.

Our system also displays yellow warnings to let you know if projects are at risk of exceeding budgets or running over estimated end dates (and shows if you’re already in the red ).

On that note — our system also includes a Today dashboard for all users so they know exactly where to focus their attention. This helps managers:

• Send prompt replies to new project requests and client emails.
• Stay on top of projects and proactively troubleshoot to avoid issues.
• Plan their day and manage workloads and other operational tasks.

This also saves managers time because it shows team members and freelancers what they need to work on, how much time to spend on tasks, and when they are due. Managers don’t have to micromanage.

Users can also track project hours here! More on that in the next section…

Managing People, Schedules & Hours

Now that we’ve covered the tools for putting projects on the schedule and monitoring active projects, let’s discuss how Workamajig simplifies marketing resource management .

Workamajig lets you bring all staff — managers, internal team members, and freelancers — under one roof to assign tasks, share calendars, and track hours.

Resource Management

The resource management tab provides a breakdown of the following:

• All available team members
• Maximum hours they’re available to work
• Hours they’re already scheduled (and hours by day)
• How many hours are left over

Our system also integrates with calendar systems (Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and Exchange) so employees can share availability and import hours from calendar events like meetings.

This shows managers exactly when employees are available to work so they don’t hold up projects by accidentally assigning tasks to team members who are OOO or tied up in other work obligations. This also keeps employees happy.

Managers can assign team members to tasks and hours automatically update in this dashboard. All employee hours are tied to rates, too, so managers can monitor project budgets as they assign work and make sure they’re assigning the best people to projects.

Managers can easily re-assign tasks on the fly if someone calls out sick, they need extra hands on a project, or they simply need to rebalance workloads.

Vendor Management

Workamajig includes vendor management features to help you:

• Source freelancers for projects —You can request quotes, receive and compare bids, and assign work. Then, you can incorporate freelancer costs into project estimates; these costs don’t surprise you or hurt project budgets down the line.
• Manage freelancers’ work — Freelancers have a version of Workamajig’s Today dashboard where they can see active projects, to-do lists by day, and details for each task. Managers don’t have to communicate all this over email and keep track of those email threads.
• Manage vendor invoices and send payments — Workamajig includes a complete accounting system so you can reconcile and pay vendor invoices. We’ll talk more about this later.

You can create unlimited vendor portals (and we don’t charge per portal).

Time Tracking

Workamajig includes time tracking and allows employees to log hours on task cards. This lets managers tie hours to specific tasks and projects and makes it easy on employees — they don’t have to use a separate time tracker tool or update a spreadsheet at the end of each day.

Workamajig has two time tracking features:

• Timers to track working hours automatically. This functionality is convenient for all parties and lets managers see how long tasks take to the minute (which helps plan future projects). Users can pause timers and switch tasks; our system records their hours when they mark tasks complete.
• A standard time entry feature to plug in hours manually.

Workamajig also lets employees add meeting hours to projects. Our system displays calendar events in the dashboard so they can specify which project the event corresponds to and confirm they attended.

Read more: Top Project Management Tools with Time Tracking (for Creatives)

Project Team & Client Collaboration

Task cards contain a variety of tools to fuel team and client collaboration.

As mentioned, our system stores all the details from project planning so that employees have the full context when starting their work. However, they can easily tag managers or other team members in comments if they need more details.

Then, they can attach website links and files to task cards and request feedback (from other team members, managers, and even clients). Our system accepts dozens of file types, including images, video, audio, design files, documents, PDFs, HTML, and more.

Note: Our system will save file names if you remove content from the system — then you have a starting point to retrieve it elsewhere.

Users can preview content in Workamajig and annotate files using our platform’s proofing tools. Then, editors can see feedback and upload new versions as they make changes. Our system stores the version history for all files so users can quickly reference past content and see the edits between versions.

Client Portals

Clients can access Workamajig via portals. You can create unlimited client portals (just like vendor portals; we don’t charge fees for these).

Clients can use portals to:

• Request work
• Check the status of projects
• Join feedback discussions
• Access final deliverables
• View invoices (and all details)
• Communicate with your team

Centralizing these communications improves organization and makes it easier to reference conversations later.

Workamajig Media Planning Integration

Workamajig connects with the media planning system Strata and media buying payment solutions FastPay and CSI, so marketing teams that manage and purchase media buys can incorporate this data into projects and reporting.

Our media planning tools support the financial aspect of media buying and allow you to easily import broadcast and print orders and invoices from Strata.

You can learn more about Strata sync here or view our complete list of Workamajig integrations here .

Workamajig Accounting Suite

Workamajig comes with a full accounting suite that can replace systems like QuickBooks, Sage, NetSuite, or Xero (allowing marketers to consolidate their tech stack even further). We explained how our system lets you manage and pay vendor invoices, but it also lets you:

• Automatically generate client invoices with all line items and billable hours. Workamajig supports multiple billing methods (time & materials, fixed fees, retainers, or media), so you can choose your preferred method per project.

• Track invoice status (i.e., see if clients have received and acknowledged invoices) and receive payments.

Financial Reporting

Then our financial dashboard has a revenue forecasting tool and a variety of reports to monitor:

• Revenue and project profitability — see profitability by project (with full cost breakdowns)
• Budgeted vs. allocated vs. actual costs
• Cash flow — our system automatically defers advanced payments to provide more accurate numbers here
• Client profit and losses

Read more: Best Creative Project Management Tools with Financial Tracking

Agency Insights

In addition to financial reports, Workamajig includes an Agency Insights dashboard to analyze project hours and see where your team members and freelancers spend their time.

This dashboard shows you hours by client, service, and department — you can dig into which clients, projects, and tasks take up the most time and get a feel for how long these tasks take, on average. You can also see which teams you utilize the most often and who works the most hours.

Agency Insights helps you:

• Balance project schedules to help give everyone a consistent workload.
• Identify services that eat up resources and determine ways to complete tasks more efficiently.
• See which clients you’re spending too much time on and determine how to troubleshoot.
• Track billable vs. non-billable hours, implement labor budgets, and optimize resource allocation.

Pricing & Getting Started

We offer solutions for in-house teams and marketing agencies and can also design custom enterprise plans. During your demo, you can specify whether you’re interested in Workamajig to support an internal marketing department or agency, and we’ll show you how we configure our platform for your requirements.

All of our plans include free onboarding and training and pricing is based on team size:

• Pricing for teams of 10+ is $41/user/month.
• Pricing for teams of 20+ is $39/user/month.
• Pricing for teams of 50+ is $37/user/month.

If you want to learn more about Workamajig’s marketing project management tools , you can request a demo with us . If Workamajig is right for your team, we’ll game plan the next steps with you.

2. Advantage

Advantage is a popular project management solution for marketers because it offers comprehensive agency management software complete with native media buying and planning — as Advantage recently merged with Simpli.fi.

Marketers who need media planning software — in tandem with project, resource, financial management, accounting, and time tracking — often turn to Advantage’s solution.

Advantage is typically reserved for larger agencies and marketing teams in enterprises, as it’s a very comprehensive software (and comes with an expensive price tag).

All in all, Advantage receives good customer reviews; customers appreciate that it includes a full media planning software and accounting suite. However, some mention that set-up is lengthy and the platform has a bit of a learning curve; they also mention dissatisfaction with the overall ease of use.

Notably, some users dislike Advantage’s project management workflow, but they offer demos before starting, so you can gauge this yourself and see if Advantage’s PM tools would align with your processes.

Notable Features for Marketers

• Project & task management
• Tools to calculate estimates
• Resource management
• Vendor management
• Time tracking
• Collaborative tools like proofing & reviews
• Media planning & buying — including broadcast buying, digital buying & media reporting
• Budget monitoring
• Media Accounting
• Billing & invoicing
• Financial reporting with revenue forecasting
• Reporting dashboard (to analyze project performance, financials, staff hours, etc.)

Advantage doesn’t disclose pricing online — if you're interested in this tool, you must contact them for a quote.

Read more: Best Advantage Software Alternatives for Creative Teams (2024)

3. Clients & Profits

Clients & Profits offers a project management tool for marketing agencies and marcoms. In addition to project and task management, C&P includes resource management, time tracking, media planning integrations, financial management, and accounting. It was designed to help marketers “manage people, projects, media, and money.”

C&P works with marketing teams and agencies of all growth stages; they can configure their platform for various use cases and show you how to adjust settings as you scale, add users, or change processes.

They also offer consulting services to guide your marketing strategies and show you how to see greater ROI from your work. (C&P has been working with marketers and creatives since 1986.)

Customers typically like C&P for their hands-on approach and consulting services but voice complaints about the software's usability, as the features and UI could use a modern upgrade.

• Project request forms & tools to calculate estimates
• Project planning & task management
• Project management & monitoring
• Team management with live scheduling
• Collaborative tools to gather feedback from team members & clients
• Portfolio management
• Workflow automation tools
• Financial reporting
• Full accounting system with automatic billing & invoicing tools
• Integrations with media planning systems
• Adobe XD plugin

Clients & Profits offers unique packages for studios, agencies, and marcoms. You choose the package that fits your teams and pay per user.

• Power users receive full access to the C&P platform for $59/month.
• Project managers can join the platform for $39/month.
• Creatives and other team members can join for $19/month.
• Freelancers can access the platform in a free plan, but you can also pay an extra $9/freelancer/month to give them access to collaborative & time tracking tools.

4. Robohead

Robohead is a project management tool tailored to marketers’ and creatives’ workflows. They offer packages to support teams of all sizes, but this solution might appeal to small and growing teams due to its ease of use and modern, intuitive features. (Plus, Robohead’s team guides onboarding and offers a 60-day money-back guarantee if you’re unhappy with the platform.)

Robohead’s solution brings project management, resource management, time tracking, and financial reporting under one roof. It also holds various collaborative tools to help project teams, freelancers, and clients work together and push projects over the finish line.

Robohead does not include a full accounting system or media planning features. However, marketers like that Robohead integrates with various business applications (like calendar tools, accounting software, and Adobe’s Creative Cloud).

• Project request forms
• Project planning with templates
• Task management
• Team management with staff scheduling
• Collaborative tools to support feedback discussions & revisioning
• Financial reports
• Integrations

Robohead doesn’t share pricing on their site; you have to contact them for a custom quote.

5. Productive

The next option on our list, Productive , is advertised as an agency management software for marketers and creatives. It brings project management, resource planning, budget monitoring, time tracking, financial reporting, and invoicing under one roof. Users also like Productive because it offers a variety of tools to calculate accurate estimates, manage budgets, and track real-time profitability.

Unlike the options above, Productive does not include a full accounting suite or media planning tools, so it might be better for small businesses or growing teams that aren’t as interested in those solutions.

Productive integrates with dozens of software to serve as marketers’ single source of truth. Although it doesn’t offer accounting or media planning tools, marketers can use the open API to connect those systems with Productive and pull data into the system. Productive also uses integrations to power or supplement certain features, like financial reports.

Productive’s notable integrations include QuickBooks, Zero, Sage, SAP, Justworks, ADP, Slack, HubSpot, Google, Microsoft, and Jira.

• Project management
• Resource planning
• Time tracking & timesheets
• Documents (to create shared docs & collaborate with teammates)
• Budget management dashboard
• Real-time profitability tracking & financial reporting dashboard
• Open API (to integrate with outside systems)
• Mobile apps for iOS & Android

Productive offers three packages and custom enterprise plans.

Packages include varying features and levels of support, although Productive’s site recommends choosing the Ultimate package to access all of the core project management tools.

• Essential: Their entry-level plan with basic feature access is $11/user/month.
• Premium: Their mid-level package contains more advanced project, resource, and budget management tools and costs $28/user/month.
• Ultimate: Their top-tier package unlocks access to even more advanced features (like revenue forecasting) and HubSpot integrations. Note: Productive doesn’t share pricing for this plan on their site, so you’ll have to reach out to their team.

6. Teamwork

The last option on our list, Teamwork , has experience with a wide variety of marketing teams and agencies, but it typically appeals to enterprises or global brands (think household names like Disney, Netflix, Spotify, PayPal, HP, and Panasonic).

Teamwork is a complete agency management tool that offers project management in combination with resource management, time tracking, budget monitoring, and financial reporting. It also includes a CRM (though it lacks a full accounting suite).

Like Productive above, Teamwork integrates with dozens of outside systems and supplements certain features through integrations. Investing in Teamwork doesn’t necessarily let you consolidate your tech stack, but it lets you connect systems to centralize marketing efforts and improve workflow management.

Teamwork’s customer support team is available to guide onboarding and help users customize the software to their specifications.

• Project intake forms
• Project templates & automation tools
• Customizable project monitoring dashboards
• Resource & workload management
• Team collaboration, commenting, proofing, file sharing & version history
• Client management
• Expense management
• Budget tracking
• Tools to manage retainers
• Integrations with dozens of business applications

Teamwork offers a (very limited) free version of their software, two upgraded packages, and custom enterprise plans.

• The Deliver plan is $13.99/user/month and requires a minimum of three users (for a minimum monthly cost of $41.97). This package provides access to Teamwork’s advanced project management and automation tools.
• The Grow plan costs $25.99/user/month and requires a minimum of five users (for a minimum monthly cost of $129.95). Teamwork recommends this package because it grants full feature access.

Try Workamajig Today

Workamajig is a comprehensive project management tool that was created specifically for marketers, creatives, and agencies. It includes task management, resource management, time tracking, vendor and client management, financial reporting, and more.

To explore our platform’s features further, request a personalized demo of Workamajig .

Related Posts

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Top Project Management Tools with Time Tracking (for Creatives)

Best Marketing Resource Management Software for Agencies (2024)

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What Is a Work OS? The Best Work OS Software for 2024

Our content is funded in part by commercial partnerships, at no extra cost to you and without impact to our editorial impartiality. Click to Learn More

During our last round of Work OS testing, we found out that the best work operating system you can currently buy is monday.com. It scores a 4.7/5 overall, higher than the 10 other Work OS platforms we tested. monday.com scored the highest on our ease-of-use tests, has a large set of task management features, solid security and customer support options, and an excellent starter plan that you can try for free . Our top 3 picks are:

1. monday.com – The best overall Work OS, easiest to use 2. Teamwork – Great security features and automation builder 3. ClickUp   – The best Work OS for task management & collaboration

Since the mass shift to remote working, you may have felt bogged down by the number of software applications you and your team have to use to perform your daily duties. You’re not alone, either – according to Wrike , 79% of business leaders think there are too many apps and programs involved in their workdays.

That’s where a Work Operating System (OS) comes in. It’s an all-encompassing setup for managing day-to-day work activities, processes, and tasks, as well as projects . You can use a Work OS to successfully replace spreadsheets, boards, and notepads, making your processes more efficient, your projects clearer and your business leaner.

In this guide, you’ll find:

What Is a Work OS?

• The Best Work OS Software: Test Summary
• The Best Work OS Software: Provider Reviews
• The Benefits and Features of a Work OS

Choosing the Right Work OS for Your Business

• How a Work OS Makes Remote Work Better
• About Our Work OS Research

Work OS FAQs

The term Work OS refers to the future of project management software , which is evolving into a comprehensive dashboard for seamless workflows for all employees, whether they’re in-person or remote. Over the last decade or so, businesses have found this software so useful for managing projects that they’ve started to use it for all their operations and day-to-day activities.

A Work OS is “the operating system for putting all your work in one place,” as Zeb Evans, CEO and founder of project management service ClickUp , told Tech.co.

But what does that actually mean in practice? Here’s how business software is evolving to meet the new normal of the business world and your new-look working day. With the days of fully in-person offices gone, the Work OS’s status as a single record-keeping platform is key.

“A modern Work OS is designed to save people time, make teams more efficient, and serve as a single source of record for all work so that everyone can know what everyone is working on” – Zeb Evans, ClickUp.

You might not be able to tip your chair back and holler across the open office to that one coworker, but when dropping a comment on their project, file or task feels just as easy, you’re still connected where it counts.

Best Work OS software to choose

Before we look at the best Work OS software in greater detail further on in this article, here’s our sneak peek at the tools we’ve tested, and what they’re good at:

• monday.com – Best overall Work OS, easiest to use
• Teamwork – Great security features and automation builder
• ClickUp – The best Work OS for task management and collaboration
• Asana   – The best Work OS for data-intensive projects and planning
• Wrike – A Work OS ideal for large businesses, with a large number of integrations
• Trello   – The best basic Work OS, with the cheapest paid plan
• Smartsheet   – The best Work OS for spreadsheet fans

Note:  All the images used in this article were taken during Tech.co’s project management user testing series. For more information on how we test project management tools, as well as other products, visit our  product research page .

Test Summary (2024)

monday.com impressed me the most during our latest round of work management platform testing. I found it the easiest to use by far. Editing dates, deadlines, the names of columns, etc. is all really intuitive. When you’re using software like this for day-to-day work management, it’s important you don’t dread opening it up in the morning – and monday.com’s minimalistic interface immediately makes you feel more organized .

That being said, it’s not quite as feature-rich as ClickUp , which you may find more useful if you’re managing a really big project that involves a bunch of really complex tasks. But monday.com is much more user-friendly – when using it, I could immediately see how this would save my team time. The live chat function was great too – during testing, someone at monday.com sent me a video showing me how to fix a problem I reported within minutes.

Teamwork is another good monday.com alternative if you’re a small or medium-sized business  that needs a bit of an organizational boost – I found it quite similar to Asana, but it just felt like it had been built a little better. The automation builder is excellent and the instructions are really clear.

Tech.co Work OS User Testing Score: 4.7/5 Best for? Overall Work OS, easiest to use

Sheer scope helps monday.com stand out: Its Work OS “spans hundreds of business verticals,” says Matthew Burns, Startup Ecosystems Leader at  monday.com . “Companies use it as homegrown as construction or as industrial as space travel. It requires no coding experience to get started while offering low-code tools for those who wish to create their unique applications on top of our platform.”

• Highly customizable platform
• Custom fields feature available on all plans (including the free plan)
• Rule-based automation can be used to complete simple tasks, like archiving items
• Free plan has 2-person user limit
• Limited third party integrations
• Higher tiers required for basic features

monday.com overview: the best and easiest-to-use Work OS overall

The service’s flexible custom templates helped it score 4.3/5 for workflow creation, as did features like monday.com’s form builder, which can be used to compile post-project feedback, and its range of preset project templates. It’s important to note that monday.com’s ease of use score is higher than the other 10 providers we tested, with an almost perfect 4.5/5 (by way of comparison, Smartsheets scores just 3.6/5).

During our most recent series of tests, monday.com impressed our testing group the most. It has a minimalistic interface and won’t overwhelm you with features or jargon.

“In terms of the look of the platform, I really like [monday.com],” said Ollie Simpson, a tech.co software researcher who participated in our ease-of-use tests. “I think it’s really clear. I like the use of white space because I think project management tools often use different shades and colors to separate different parts of the interface, and that can be quite hard to read and be quite overwhelming”.

monday.com also has the task management tools to compete with the best Work OS systems, scoring 4.5/5. It supplies all the basics (like Gantt charts, sub-tasks, and task dependencies) plus some useful extras (like an AI assistant, which is currently available but in beta). The software also scores 5/5 for data visualization, thanks to the options on its more expensive plans, such as six different chart categories and six different widget options.

You’re welcome to try monday.com for free to get a feel for the Work OS platform.

monday.com’s Kanban board. Image: Tech.co’s testing process.

monday.com pricing

monday.com’s pricing plans only helped the provider to a 3.9/5 for pricing – making it the 7th best provider out of the 10 we tested when it comes to value for money.

Its pricing structure puts it in the middle of the pack, but it also has more plans than most providers with 5 in total compared to Smartsheet, which has 3 pricing plans , so you may find there’s a monday.com plan that fits your budget.

• Free ( $0 ):  monday.com’s free plan has a user limit of two, which means that most businesses won’t be able to use it. However, if you are a duo, you’ll enjoy monday.com’s kanban board, custom fields for inputting all kinds of data, and collaboration tools.
• Basic ( $9 per user, per month) : this plan has no user limit, and the storage is upgraded from 500MB to 5GB. This is the first plan you’ll be able to create or use project templates on, but there’s still not a huge number of features.
• Standard  ( $12 per user, per month): This is where monday.com truly becomes a Work OS, with custom and pre-built automations, a milestone-setting tool, and a Gantt Chart for managing tasks, dashboards for displaying data, a calendar), and integrations with other software, and guest access to top it all off.
• Pro   $19 per user, per month : There are more task management features added on this plan (like task dependencies), a budget management workaround, as well as a chart builder for showcasing insights to the rest of your team. There’s also a resource management tool available.
• Enterprise (tailored pricing): This plan is monday.com’s only plan that offers onboarding assistance, and there are large business-focused functions like dashboards that let you manage multiple sub-boards.

Tech.co Work OS User Testing Score: 4.6/5 Best for? Budget tracking and security options

Teamwork is one of the better all-around Work OS tools we’ve tested – it performed well in ease-of-use tests (4.3/5), tied with monday.com for security (5/5). Best of all though, the least expensive paid plan is $5.99 per user, per month , which is cheaper than monday.com’s.

• Lots of collaboration tools
• Kanban-style boards and Gantt charts available
• Affordable pricing and solid free option
• Great security options
• Limited built-in integrations
• Data visualization isn't the easiest

Teamwork overview: The best work OS for tracking budgets, with excellent security features

Teamwork is the runner-up to monday.com in the race for best Work OS. It scores 4.6/5 overall, an increase from its 4.4/5 score on our 2022 tests. This was heavily influenced by Teamwork’s impressive ease-of-use testing performance. I personally found the platform one of the easier to get to grips with initially – the onboarding is really clear and instructive and the template library is impressive.

“The best and biggest standout feature was possibly the automations – I think they were possibly some of the most thorough that I’ve seen really, really clearly signposted really well laid out,” commented Natasha Willet, Tech.co’s Insights Manager, during testing. “I didn’t have to read an awful lot. It covered so much that I thought straight away I could pretty much do anything”.

Teamwork has a great range of security features, offering two-factor authentication on all paid plans. Single sign-on, Google authentication, and IP restriction are also available on all of Teamwork’s plans, meaning you don’t have to buy an enterprise plan for enterprise-grade security features. There’s also phone and live chat support offered on every Teamwork plan when you get stuck (Asana and monday.com don’t offer phone-based support).

Adding a task in Teamwork. Image: Tech.co’s testing process.

Teamwork pricing

Teamwork has a free plan available, as well as an Enterprise plan with no public pricing. Here’s the lowdown on all five plans:

• Free Forever ( $0 ): On the free plan, you’ll get two project templates and be able to create a maximum of five projects. However, there’s a five-person user limit and only 100MB of storage, so this plan won’t be suitable for large teams that have complex projects to manage.
• Starter plan ( $5.99 per user, per month ):  This plan has a 100-project limit and no user limit, 10 project templates, 50GB of storage, and a portfolio and workflow view. It also integrates with more programs than the free plan, such as Google Drive, DropBox, and OneDrive.
• Deliver plan ( $9.99 per user, per month ): The Deliver plan comes with everything in the start plan plus 5,000 automation actions per month, three custom fields, 20 project templates, portfolio health, planned v actual and project status reports, as well as burndown charts for scrum teams.
• Grow plan ( $19.99 per user, per month ): This plan is geared toward large businesses that may have multiple teams working on different projects. You’ll get 50 project templates on this plan, 20,000 automation actions per month, company timesheets, resource scheduling, and advanced task management tools like Gantt filtering.
• Scale ( contact sales ) : The Scale plan is for teams that want an all-encompassing solution, and would be the best plan for work management if money was no object. On this plan, you’ll get unlimited projects, more than 500GB of storage, Enterprise dashboards, and a custom reports feature.

Tech.co Work OS User Testing Score: 4.5/5 Best for? Task management, collaboration, and overall functionality

ClickUp aims to replace a team’s entire productivity stack, from project management and docs to OKRs, workload management, and more. On our last round of testing, we found it to be the third-best Work OS overall, but the best when it came to the sheer number of features and subsequent functionality on offer.

• 11+ ways to view project progress and data
• Useful "Chat" view for collaboration
• Team view for organizing tasks by team member
• Cheaper than monday.com & Wrike
• Agile project management features
• Vast number of features, even on cheap plans
• Customizability can be overwhelming to new users
• Not great at compiling project feedback
• Comparatively clunky automation builder
• Slow to load on our tests
• No 24/7 live support
• Fewer integrations than competitors

ClickUp overview: the best Work OS for t ask management, collaboration, and overall functionality

ClickUp’s impressive overall score of 4.5/5 is helped by its 4.6/5 for overall functionality, a rating it achieved because it offers the full collection of features you’d expect a proper Work OS to have for managing tasks and workflows. Many of these features are available on its free plan and first paid plan, the Unlimited Plan ( $7 per user, per month ), which is great value despite being more expensive than Teamwork’s Starter plan ( $5.99 per user, per month ).

But ClickUp isn’t all about task management. ClickUp is a 5/5 provider for data visualization (with lots of options for customizing your own charts and widgets) and gets a 4.3/5 for workflow creation, thanks to a huge range of custom templates available in the ‘Template Center’, as well as a custom automation builder that’s available on all plans.

When we tested ClickUp, some members of our testing group experienced long loading times and screen freezes, which led to an underwhelming ease of use score (3.9/5) this time round. I personally thought the setup was quick, but when I started to get into some of the more detailed functionalities of things, it became more complicated and I felt like I was running into dead ends, something I didn’t feel with Teamwork or monday.com.

However, ClickUp’s native email integration helps users tie in their email use, which might be a core concern for your business. ClickUp also recently added a new feature, Pulse, which uses Machine Learning to create automatic activity reports. there’s also now an AI assistant available on all ClickUp plans aside from its free plan, for just $5 per user per month .

Thanks to that low initial price point and relatively cheap third-tier Business plan, ClickUp scores a 4.4/5 for pricing. This makes it our joint-best value-for-money Work OS, tied with Teamwork. Check out our full ClickUp review for a more comprehensive look at all of its features.

The List view & AI assistant in ClickUp. Image: Tech.co’s testing process.

ClickUp Pricing

All in all, when we tested ClickUp’s paid plans , it scored particularly high scores across the board. The provider has an impressive library of communication integrations, lots of task management tools, and integrates with top CRM Salesforce, helping it to a 4.4/5 for pricing overall.

• Free ($0):  ClickUp has the best free Work OS on the market. Although it has a project limit of five, it’s got no user limit, custom and pre-built automations, custom project templates, a Gantt Chart with 100 uses, sub-tasks and task dependencies and a dashboard for data (100 uses).
• Unlimited Access ($7 per user, per month): If you have a little bit of a budget to spend on software, definitely go for this ClickUp plan. The usage limits on some of the free plan features are lifted, as is the project limit, and there’s a calendar as well as 1,000 automations a month.
• Business ($12 per user, per month ): this plan is geared toward larger businesses and has a 10,000 automation limit, a huge upgrade from the Unlimited plan. There are also custom chart and widget builders, so you’ll have more control over how your data is displayed in your Work OS. This plan also has burndown charts for teams deploying Scrum , the Agile working methodology.
• Enterprise (tailored pricing): ClickUp’s enterprise package comes with a dedicated success manager and live onboarding training, as well as a single sign-on function and a tailored Enterprise API.

Before you purchase ClickUp, find out how it compares to other project management software .

Tech.co Work OS User Testing Score: 4.5/5 Best for? Displaying data

Asana is another work management solution that helps businesses handle everything: organizing, tracking, and managing and is used by big names like Uber and AirBnB .

• Unlimited storage
• Plenty of third-party integrations
• Incredible clean and intuitive interface
• Easy to use dashboards and chart builder
• Most key features require a Premium plan
• Very high prices for larger teams
• No phone-based support

Asana overview: a Work OS with best-in-class automation

On our last round of testing, Asana scored 4.3/5 for task management because it provides a Gantt Chart, a Kanban board, time-tracking, and task dependencies, among other useful features. There’s also a spreadsheet view that supports formulas and a resource management feature on the Business and Enterprise plans.

Asana scored 4.8/5 for data visualization – there are 5 different types of charts you can create, and you can pull through data from custom fields you’ve made to display on your dashboard, which other competitors on this list won’t let you do. You can also use a counter-style widget if you have some data that can’t be displayed in a graph. However, none of these features are available on the free plan.

A data dashboard in Asana. Image: Tech.co’s testing process.

Further, the provider’s “Portfolios” functionality helps teams reduce work with project portfolio management, for any number of Work OS benefits, from high-level views for department heads to consolidated institutional knowledge that’s referenced frequently.

Asana scores 4.1/5 for workflow creation (3rd), thanks to one of the simple-to-use rule-based automation builder. While not as good as Teamwork’s , it’s much better than ClickUp’s automation builder, which is clunkier compared to Asana’s.

However, all things considered, Asana isn’t quite as clearly laid out as monday.com. Sometimes , when I clicked on tasks, it just felt like there was way too much on the screen. monday.com’s slightly more simplified interface is a bit less overwhelming, all things considered.

Asana Pricing

Asana, like monday.com, scores 3.7/5 for pricing – it’s a fantastic program, and the first paid plan, the Premium plan, has a lot of what you need to run a project for small teams. The only problem is providers like Teamwork offer very similar packages for less money ( $5.99 per user, per month ), making it better value for money overall.

• Basic ($0):  Asana’s free plan is decent, but it lacks data visualization tools as well as important task management features. It also has a user limit of 15, so won’t be suitable for medium and large businesses (as well as some small ones) which will have more people who need access to the Work OS.
• Premium tier ($10.99 per user, per month): there’s a full set of data visualization tools on this plan, as well as useful task management tools like a Gantt Chart, Milestones, and task dependencies.
• Business tier ($24.99 per user, per month): This is the first plan that Asana will let you build custom automations with its incredible automation builder, which was really easy to use and the best one we tested in our last round of research. There’s also a resource management feature that’s useful for managing the available hours of team members.
• The Enterprise plan (Bespoke Pricing):  This plan, as the name suggests, has enterprise-level capabilities, including increased data control, an Audit log API for security alerts and priority support (including a 99.9% uptime guarantee).

Tech.co Work OS User Testing Score: 4.4/5 Great for? Large Businesses, integrations

Wrike has more choices for larger businesses than most other providers, with an Enterprise and a Pinnacle plan. It’s also got an impressively large suite of useful integrations, scoring 5/5 in this assessment area on our recent tests.

• No-nonsense, robust feature catalog
• Lots of customizability
• Strong task management and data tools
• Huge integrations library
• Not entirely easy to use
• Difficult to use automation builder
• Not the best for collaboration

Wrike overview: a Work OS with excellent integrations

Wrike scores 4.4/5 overall, making it the 5th best Work OS we’ve tested. It’ll be of particular interest to you if you’re looking for software for a large business, as Wrike has two plans geared towards enterprise-size companies. It also came joint first for task management (4.7/5), which means it’s more capable than the likes of Smartsheet, Asana, and even monday.com when it comes to handling complex tasks.

Although work management platforms like Wrike are designed to be an all-encompassing, central hub for your work operations, such is the way of 21st-century work, you’ll still probably end up using some other apps. That’s where Wrike has an advantage over the other work management platforms we’ve tested – it’s the only one to score 5/5 for integrations.

With Wrike, you’ll be able to connect to Salesforce, HubSpot, RingCentral, Teams, Zoom, Slack, Goto, CISCO, Quickbooks, Mailchimp, Zoho CRM, Xero, and a range of other integrations that are likely to have you covered if you use finance, marketing, CRM or communications platforms alongside it.

That’s not all, though – along with ClickUp and monday.com , Wrike is one of the Work OS programs with generative AI capabilities. There are AI-recommended tasks and even a project risk prediction function (although this is only available on paid plans). Wrike has a number of other AI tools coming soon too, including an intelligent search function, smart suggestions, and a work assistant.

The Table view in Wrike. Image: Tech.co’s testing process.

Wrike pricing

Wrike has a relatively limited free plan available, as well as Enterprise and Pinnacle plans that don’t have public pricing. Here’s the lowdown on all five plans:

• Free Forever ( $0 ):  Wrike’s free plan has no project or user limit, which puts it ahead of some other free plans. However, there are very few budget and resource management features, no advanced reporting options, no dashboards, and no automation options.
• Team plan ( $9.80 per user, per month ):  On the Team plan you’ll get automation capabilities and be able to create 50 actions per month. Instead of 2GB total storage, you’ll get 2GB per user, as well as personal work schedules, dynamic Gantt charts, and dashboards.
• Business plan ( $24.99 per user, per month ):  Along with everything in the team plan, the Business plan offers real-time reports, AI-recommended tasks, sub-items, project risk prediction, custom templates & blueprints. You’ll also get a full suite of resource management tools, including a “Resource” view.
• Enterprise plan ( custom pricing ):  The Enterprise plan is quite similar to the Business plan, but there’s a whole range of admin and security features that larger businesses will find useful, like two-step verification, admin permissions, and advanced user access controls.
• Pinnacle plan ( custom pricing ): The pinnacle plan adds “locked spaces” for added security siloing, as well as some advanced resource and planning features, such as job roles. There are also a few extra advanced analytics tools thrown in.

Tech.co Work OS User Testing Score: 4.3/5 Best for? Basic, Simple Work OS

Trello’s 2021 team collaboration-centered upgrade gives the platform a range of views including a timeline, table, dashboard, and a calendar, and centers the service even more on team connection. However, it’s still a basic platform compared to the likes of monday.com and ClickUp – but that might be exactly what you’re looking for.

• Kanban-dominant approach
• Automation is available on the free plan
• Cheaper than most competitors
• Live chat support on all paid plans
• Very simple project templates
• Basic functionality, not updated regularly
• Sparse collaboration tools

Trello overview: the best basic Work OS

Trello didn’t score as highly as some of the other providers on this list (4.3/5 overall). It is, however, a great solution for very basic task management without all the bells and whistles offered by monday.com’s Pro plan – and, sometimes, keeping it simple is the quickest route to success.

Its task management (2.9/5) and workflow creation (3/5) scores are nowhere near as high as Work OS programs like Asana’s scores, but not everyone needs a flashy data dashboard – particularly if your project isn’t data-intensive at all. And besides, Trello still has a very capable automation builder, loads of preset project templates, and a Kanban board.

Trello’s Kanban board. Image: Tech.co’s testing process.

Trello’s security score of 4.4/5 is very decent. Two-factor authentication is available on all plans, as is Google authentication and user permissions. There’s guest access available on all paid plans as well, which is a secure way to ensure stakeholders can view your project without accessing confidential information. However, there are no IP restriction capabilities (even on the Enterprise plan), which stops Trello from getting full marks.

One of the upsides to Trello is the customer support (5/5) options – on its Enterprise plan, which is priced at a very affordable $17.50 per user, per month , you’ll be able to contact the provider by phone, email, live chat whatever time of day your problem arises. This is certainly assuring, especially when downtime can cost some companies tens of thousands of dollars an hour.

“[Trello] is incredibly well signposted and really, really easy to use for what is required from a work management perspective,” said Natasha Willet, Tech.co’s Insights Manager, who took part in our work management platform testing.

Trello pricing

Trello scores 4/5 for pricing, and has one of the cheapest Enterprise tiers available at $17.50 per user, per month – a lot of competitors (monday.com, ClickUp, Asana, etc.) don’t even make their Enterprise pricing public.

Granted, Trello is not as feature-rich as many competitors, but it’s not trying to be – and Trello’s pricing matches that. You will, however, have to pay extra for some power-ups and add-ons. If you’re managing a large project, you may find it cheaper to buy a platform like monday.com, which won’t require much extra to be sufficiently functional.

• Free ($0): Trello’s free plan is an excellent option for teams who don’t want to overcomplicate their task management or workday duties, but need an extra bit of organization and an efficiency boost. Trello will let you build automations on its free plan (although only 205 per month), as well as custom project templates. It has a user limit of 10 and 10MB per file, however, so it won’t suit most medium or larger businesses.
• Standard ($5 per user, per month): On Trello’s first paid plan, you’ll get unlimited project boards, and you’ll be able to show stakeholders your progress via Guest access. The automation limit is expanded to 1,000 per month, but there are still no data visualization tools and you’re only entitled to Trello’s standard support.
• Premium ($10 per user, per month):  On the premium plan you’ll be able to display data on dashboards, and you’ll have a calendar to aid better organization and forward planning. There are also some extra task management tools like a Gantt Chart and a spreadsheet-style view, as well as priority support.
• Enterprise ($17.50 per user, per month): Trello’s plan for the largest businesses adds free Single Sign-On (SSO) into the mix and you can build multiple workspaces for different teams working on different projects.

Tech.co Work OS User Testing Score: 4.6/5 Best for? Ease of use

Smartsheet was the provider our research team finds the easiest to use (4.3/5, 1st) – and as it looks so similar to a spreadsheet, it might not quite be the “baptism of fire” other project management software might be.

• Free Trial available
• Familiar, spreadsheet-like interface
• Great for any sized company
• High scores for security & customer support
• Some features have limited functionality
• Not the easiest tool to use at first
• Competitors like ClickUp have better collaboration features, such as an online whiteboard

Smartsheet overview: the best Work OS for spreadsheet fans

Smartsheet’s spreadsheet-style default layout means transitioning from Excel or Google Docs is quite straightforward. However, it only scored 3.6/5 on our recent ease-of-use tests, which contributed to an overall score reduction from 4.6/5 in 2022/23 to 4.2/5 in 2024.

When using the software, I found it a little hard to know where to start due to the range of options. As someone who hasn’t spent a huge amount of time using Excel, I felt a little lost initially. However, after about 45 minutes of playing around with stuff, it finally clicked and became super simple. It suddenly became a lot easier to navigate than Jira. But that initial confusion is something I didn’t experience when using monday.com and Teamwork .

“You have to spend a lot of time actually setting up this platform for a team” agrees James Macey, one of Tech.co’s software researchers who participated in our ease-of-use testing. “Other platforms are a bit more straight out of the box and ready to go.”

Despite this, Smartsheet performed well when it came to task management, scoring 4.1/5. All the basics you need are included, such as a Gantt chat, task dependencies, and sub-tasks. A range of preset project templates are included but you can also build your own, and a form builder is thrown in for post-project feedback.

The customer support options offered by Smartsheet are pretty good too, with the provider scoring 4.4/5 overall for this assessment area. Email support is available on every plan, while onboarding assistance, phone and 24/7 live support support can be purchased for a small fee if you subscribe to the Business plan (the Enterprise plan includes the latter two for free).

Smartsheet pricing

Smartsheet scores 4.2/5 for pricing, putting it 5th out of 10 providers in terms of value for money. The second tier is priced at $25 per user, per month – which is well over double the cost of equivalent unlimited and premium plans offered by ClickUp and Zoho Projects . However, Smartsheet has a free plan for one user and two “editors” who can also make changes to products, and its Pro plan is cheaper than monday.com’s Basic projects plan. The provider’s paid plans are structured like so:

• Pro ( $7 per user, per month ) : Smartsheet’s first plan has a user limit of 25 and an automation limit of 250 per month. There’s also a 20GB storage cap, and you can only make a maximum of one data dashboard and five custom charts. Aside from that, it’s got a lot of tools for its price, including a Gantt Chart, a calendar, and the ability to add guests.
• Business ( $25 per user, per month ) : The business plan from Smartsheet adds, on top of everything in the free plan, phone support (for an additional fee) and resource management tools. There’s also document editing and 1TB of storage, as well as unlimited automation and integration with Microsoft Teams.
• Enterprise (custom pricing): you won’t have to pay for phone support on this plan, and there’s unlimited storage, custom email domains, advanced analytics, and work insights, plus other enterprise-level features like single sign-on.

The Benefits, Features and Capabilities of Work OS

Now, we’ll take you through some of the benefits of using a Work OS in a little bit more detail. Here are some of the main reasons why a Work OS will transform your work day:

Core Benefits

• Centralization workflow and task management in one place
• Ability to Automate the more menial elements of your workday
• The streamlining of workflows and the subsequent time saved
• Capacity to integrate vital data from other software
• Clearer, in-context communication on the most important data

Additional Benefits

• Getting a better handle on the critical path of your projects
• Better management of asset-sharing between colleagues
• Easier to convey findings to stakeholders in your projects/work
• A smaller datasphere to manage
• Minimization of the dark matter of a workday

Centralizing workflows creates less confusion

Since the pandemic, what has replaced our all-binding water cooler conversations and easy access? Too often, the answer is: inconsistently used management software or target documents.

If your team uses even just two different solutions, then comments and updates might slip through the cracks between them. Or worse, keeping everything up to date becomes an entire work task in itself.

“With different teams working across different tools for a variety of different tasks, teams inevitably become disconnected from their work and each other,” ClickUp’s Zeb Evans told Tech.co.

“With all elements of work moving digital – video chats, email, instant communication, project tracking, reporting, document creation, and so much more – workers are feeling burnt out just trying to keep up” – Zeb Evans, ClickUp.

This is perhaps the most important element of a Work OS – it should focus on making the essential aspects of any business’s workflow more manageable and, in turn, it’ll make people feel less burnt out, confused and unsure of whether they truly have the full picture.

Staying connected with colleagues and goals

Matthew Burns, Startup Ecosystems Leader at monday.com , sums up what makes a Work OS by contrasting it against more limited traditional tools:

“Unlike a conventional task tracking or project management tool, which is primarily a focused solution, a Work OS is designed to help teams plan and deliver on all of their work – like ideation, processes, projects, and initiatives – in one place” – Matthew Burns, monday.com.

The Work OS needs to be robust, given the shoes it has to fill to serve as the central software for a given business. It’ll have to be “innovative enough to replace all the software people already use or integrate with software they want to keep,” Evans added.

With a Work OS, tasks can be seen in the context of a wider project. A project can be seen in the context of a wider business strategy and a company’s (and an individual’s) goals. The timeline for that strategy can be viewed holistically or incrementally. Importantly, it provides a way for employees to understand their role in a business in multiple ways, wherever they are.

“A Work OS is designed to address this challenge by enabling cross-collaboration, transparency, and an open flow of information across a company – no matter how far apart teams may be” Matthew Burns, monday.com.

Once the team is freed from work silos and cut time-consuming tasks, that connection is easier than ever, no matter where they’re working from. In order to shake off the ways of the past, though, you’ll need to know what they are.

Learn if monday.com is the best value for you with our monday.com pricing guide

There are some core criteria a Work OS has to satisfy to be considered a true Work OS. These include:

• It should be cloud-based , so it’s easily accessible from any device or location.
• It should also focus on the essentials of a business workflow – planning, managing, and tracking projects and daily tasks
• It must be flexible/customizable – the Work OS must be adaptable to the latest challenges facing your business.

But there are also other things you’ll have to consider when purchasing a Work OS. The main factors are going to be the size of your business , your budget for software, and the general level of tech savviness in your team .

Company size

Organizations of different sizes and different business functions will need different functions, whether it’s an easily flagged quick review process, or a messaging ability that ensures everyone’s comments on a project are in the same place.

Small Businesses can afford to be less concerned with the more expensive Work OS software plans. These often include enterprise-grade features that would be useless for smaller companies and analytics capabilities that just aren’t necessary. There’s also less pressure to go for complex software with a litany of features facilitating duties like managing multiple teams at once – if you only have one team, you don’t need a Work OS with a function like this.

Medium-sized Businesses as a category of business are perhaps home to the most variation in this context. Some medium-sized businesses will need enterprise-level capabilities and some won’t. One thing medium-sized businesses will have to look out for is user limits – Smartsheet’s “pro” plan, for example, has a user limit of 25, which will be too small for many medium-sized businesses.

Large Businesses will have to shop around for those enterprise-level capabilities that small businesses can afford to avoid. Larger companies are likely to be more concerned with compliance regulations and data security, considering how many people will be managing huge amounts of data, much of it likely to be confidential.

Of course, budget is almost always the biggest consideration – and in an economic climate like the one we’re currently in, there’s even more pressure to spend well on software that guarantees ROI.

If you have no budget for Work OS Software , then you’ll be looking exclusively at free plans. Just be sure to not focus too much on the features on offer – many providers have quite strict user limits. monday.com’s free plan, for example, is only available for a maximum of two people, while ClickUp’s free Work OS app only allows for a maximum of five projects.

Remember though, in the second case, you could always just make a new account when you run out of projects (which may solve that issue for smaller businesses working on less than five projects simultaneously). That’s just one example of a consideration you should take into account when reviewing free project management software or Work OS programs.

If you do have a budget for software, and you want to make a Work OS your priority, then make sure you’re looking at Tech.co’s pricing scores. In terms of value for money, it’s those first paid plans like Teamwork’s Starter plan ( $5.99 per user, per month ) and Trello’s (also $5 per user, per month ) that are often the best bets – lots of restrictions from free plans are often removed and, if you don’t necessarily need the enterprise-grade features of the most expensive plans, it’s a no-brainer.

The other thing to think about, however big your budget is, is how much money you’ll be saving by centralizing your operations around a multi-functional Work OS that can do it all. You might be able to cancel your subscriptions to other applications if you find a program that’s feature-rich enough to deal with all your work needs.

So, it might actually save you money to go with a more expensive Work OS that really does it all, and escape the multi-software hell many of us have found ourselves in post-pandemic.

Your team’s tech-savviness

A third consideration you’ll have to take into account is how tech-savvy your team is. Not all employees have the time to be tech whizzes, and even averagely complex software can feel intimidating if you’ve only just managed to get your head around the fact you can make two different tabs in the same spreadsheet.

Luckily, there’s enough clear, uncluttered, and intuitive Work OS software on the market to get around this stumbling block. Asana’s user interface is easy to navigate around, and Smartsheet is a great option if you want a smooth transition away from spreadsheets.

How a Work OS Makes Remote Work Easier

There are a number of issues that arise when working remotely, some of which come down to hardware setup. One recent survey found the two biggest self-reported work-from-home tech struggles were slow connection and slow devices.

Slow file downloads and dropped calls were also high on the list, further driving home the biggest practical concern facing a hybrid work environment: not all broadband speeds were created equal.

Chart via InMyArea.com

Even with these problems, using a Work OS can help — you’ll streamline processes that could otherwise keep you switching between a handful of internet-eating software rather than just one. But, the Work OS needs to be flexible enough to meet employees where they are, and internet speeds are just one consideration.

“The ability to transition the employee experience from human to virtual is complex and fraught with landmines,”  – Matt Abbott, Head of Recruiting Services, The Sourcery .

Abbott recommends any businesses frustrated with their workflow ask themselves three questions before adopting a new software:

• What problem are we solving?
• Does the tool mesh with our company culture?
• Is this a problem to solve using software, or can we efficiently humanize the process?

Don’t go for the quick fix, particularly in the transition from multiple software tools to one, centralized Work OS. If the value of the software isn’t clear to the entire organization, you run the risk of adding yet another micromanaging tool to a long list of them; the opposite of your end goal.

How We Chose the Best Work OS: Our Research

Here at Tech.co, we can give you the guarantee that we only write about products we’ve researched and tested . In order to do this fairly, we create research frameworks and criteria upon which to assess them, based on conversations with small and medium-sized businesses that want to make informed purchases.

If businesses are telling us that one of their key decision-making factors is how easy a product is to use (which many have) we’ll put that front and center of our research frameworks. There’s one rule we have when it comes to research: if we don’t have the data, we don’t write the review.

We’re very upfront about the fact that we have commercial partnerships with some of the providers we write about (see the wording at the top and bottom of this review). However, our commercial partnerships never, ever impact our editorial independence , rankings, or impartiality when it comes to judging software. That is something we won’t compromise on.

Work OS research at Tech.co

Work OS and project management software research is performed very regularly at Tech.co as it’s one of the software categories we cover that changes frequently. The good thing is that this allows us to keep updating you with the very latest market insights, feature updates, and pricing changes.

For our Work OS research, the core criteria we honed in on (based on the pain points voiced by real businesses) were:

• Ease of Use – an assessment of the platform’s user experience when completing basic project management tasks.
• Pricing – an analysis of how many features users get on a provider’s plans for the price they pay.
• Customer Support – an assessment of the customer support options on offer.
• Functionality  – analysis of both the quantity and quality of features provided by the software.
• Security  – an assessment of the security features on offer, and which plans they feature on.
• Integrations  – an analysis of both the quantity and quality of features provided by the software.

Because “functionality” is such a broad category, we broke this down further into four sub-categories into which all Work OS features fall. These include:

• Task Management – assessment of the performance of a provider’s task management features (e.g. Kanban boards).
• Project and Workflow Creation – assessment of project and workflow creation features on offer (e.g. project templates).
• Data Visualization – assessment of features that aid the presentation of data (e.g. preset charts and widgets).
• Collaboration – assessment of features designed for communication with team members (e.g. an instant messenger).

Verdict: monday.com is the best Work OS

monday.com’s multitude of task management features and impressive ease of use score helped it achieve a 4.7/5 in our testing, narrowly beating Teamwork to be crowned the best Work OS out there. monday.com’s first paid plan costs just $9 per user, per month , and the way it pairs a simple interface with powerful tools makes it perfect for managing and organizing day-to-day duties.

The pandemic started over and, since then, the world has changed dramatically. Importantly, our work changed forever along with it. Right now, employees working remotely and in the office feel overwhelmed by the amount of software that they now have to use. A Work OS, like the one provided by monday.com, can change that – not only will it streamline your workflows and make projects easier to follow and track, but it’ll save your staff precious time and energy too.

We explain more about work operating systems and answer common FAQs about Work OS tools.

What is a Work OS?

What are the benefits of a work os, what's the difference between work os and project management software, what's the best work operating system, what is os project management.

If you click on, sign up to a service through, or make a purchase through the links on our site, or use our quotes tool to receive custom pricing for your business needs, we may earn a referral fee from the supplier(s) of the technology you’re interested in. This helps Tech.co to provide free information and reviews, and carries no additional cost to you. Most importantly, it doesn’t affect our editorial impartiality. Ratings and rankings on Tech.co cannot be bought. Our reviews are based on objective research analysis . Rare exceptions to this will be marked clearly as a ‘sponsored’ table column, or explained by a full advertising disclosure on the page, in place of this one. Click to return to top of page

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